easter weekend

We went to Canberra for the National Folk Festival for the Easter weekend.
It's a festival of folk music, dancing, tasty food and rockin' hippy clothing.

Lucy was pretty good for the most part. It was really strange being back at the festival with a baby. I got really good at the public feed. Lucy was fed in concerts, in front of fireplaces, in corridors and in the car. I think she really likes Folk music. She mostly slept in concerts. We went to a Joni Mitchell covers concert and she just lay back and swayed to the music. Or was that me swaying?

There were definitely moments of overtiredness and overfolkmusicness. On one of the nights our little girl had just had enough. Yes, there is such a thing as too much folk music. She also had a rather precious moment after church at the Pancake Factory on the Sunday. It was one of those days that looks cold outside but then turns hot. I had rugged Lucy up for a cold day and she got hot, hungry and had a messy nappy. She was pretty inconsolable. (Not really what you want in a restaurant) Thank God for my lovely Myl. He walked round and round with her till she calmed down enough for a feed. It was such a scary sounding cry. It made me feel really out of control and embarrassed to have the whole family witnessing what I felt was my inability to effectively mother. EUuuugh!
I think having a generally happy baby makes me really freak out when she does cry like that. It's hard not to feel like I have done something horribly wrong when Lucy cries.

Oh my. This outfit does not match at all. Sorry little girl your mama is not so great at fashion.

All in all we had a lovely weekend. It was nice to have so many family members only too happy to have a cuddle or walk around with our little girl. Mum (above) especially liked it when people asked her about "her" baby.

It was a nice weekend for baby's first holiday but I was pretty glad to get home. There is only so much out and about an almost 4 week old and her post c-section mama can do.

home alone

Today was my first whole day alone with my special little babe.
Myl left to go to college this morning at 10 and wont be back till 6.

We have had such a lovely day.

I feel like I have just been feeding and cuddling all day. This kid is always hungry.. or maybe when I'm home alone I just notice it more? She has this very cute cry that sounds like "gee" when she is hungry and she starts headbutting my neck. It's pretty adorable.
I'm learning all the cries. Sometimes I just have no idea what she wants but when all else fails, a feed usually does the trick.

I think I have created a cuddle monster. Lucy really doesn't like being put down. She lasts about five minutes and then along comes that little wail. (Just long enough to go to the bathroom or put some lunch together) After trying to cuddle her all day I gave up and put her in the sling. It's nice having my hands free. Eating soup for lunch became a thousand times easier.

It's all rainy so the walk I intended going on didn't happen. It's so nice sitting inside with a little body on my chest keeping me warm. She smells so nice. Just like a little fresh baby.

My little girl is growing so much. We finished our first pack of newborn nappies. She has grown out of them so we had to get the next size up. (I'm still not supposed to do laundry so we are still using disposable nappies.) She is getting all chubby and has rolls on her arms and legs. Part of me wants her to stay a little tiny newborn forever but it is good she is growing big and strong.

daddys girl

I just love seeing my little sweet cheeks with her dada.

They like to look at each other and rub noses. They play and smile at each other.

Myl is just the best dada/husband. He is the biggest help and just the loveliest. He is always fetching things for me, comforting a screaming little girl, changing nappies, making food and making sure I don't go insane. I love him.

birth story (part three)

I really didn't have a lot of time to think about or process what was happening to me. I was about to go into surgery with ten minutes warning. I had never been in surgery before. I had never really been in the hospital before except for a few trips to emergency and of course my ante-natal care. I had never broken a bone, never been on a drip, I hardly even take panadol! I was about to have myself cut open while I was awake and have my little girl wrenched from the womb.

Before they wheeled me away I asked the midwives a few questions.
I wanted to know if it would hurt. They told me no, it would feel like someone doing the washing up in my tummy. This didn't really set me at ease.
I wanted to know if I could hold and breastfeed our girl once she was out. Kelly our midwife told me I would. This set me at ease. This was probably my biggest worry about a c-section. I had heard of little babies being taken away, washed and clothed and that all important first hour of attachment being missed out on.
I wanted to know how long it would take. They said about twenty minutes. That really rocked my socks. In twenty minutes my little one would be here.

I was wheeled into the operating theatre and Myles was told to wait outside. They needed to figure out if I was going to be put under general anesthetic or epidural. If the little ones heart rate was too low they would put me under and take her out quickly but if it wasn't too low they could take their time with an epidural. I was hoping they wouldn't need to put me under. I didn't like the thought of going to sleep and waking up with a baby. I didn't want to miss it all. All was well and they could do an epidural. I had spent my whole pregnancy saying I was not going to have one and it was very strange to now have no choice in the matter or even to prefer an epidural.

The theatre was a busy place. There were probably about ten people in there all with a different job to do. They were all rushing round getting ready. Someone was attaching cords to me and putting my finger in a heart rate monitor. Someone was preparing the place they would put our little girl when she came out. Doctors were prepping their instruments. The anesthetist was getting her stuff ready. It was all really surreal. I had well and truly surrendered my body and my birth to medicine. I had done all I could in the nine months of growing this little girl and could do no more. These people would help me the rest of the way. I was completely out of control. I should have been freaking out but back came that feeling of peace. I really think that God was carrying and sustaining me through the whole process. My whole world had been turned upside down but I just sat there and let them go ahead. All I could think about was that the little one would be here soon and she would be ok. That was all that mattered.

Myles was still not allowed in. I think they thought it would be too much for him. I really really wanted him there to hold my hand. I looked around for a familiar face in the crowd. I spotted Kelly, the one person in the room I had seen before. The anesthetist was telling me about the epidural. She asked me to sit up on the side of the bed. I remember when they told us about how they do epidurals in birth classes and I was completely put off but in actual fact it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Kelly came over and started talking me through it. They put in a local anesthetic to numb the area and then in went the needle. Kelly held my hand and I squeezed it tight. It didn't really hurt but it's not a nice idea to think of a needle going into your spine to numb your body. She was a real life saver.

When the epidural was in they laid me down. Someone said they needed to put a catheter in (oh boy). I asked for Myles. The anesthetist told me that it was a "lady" thing and that he wouldn't like to see the catheter go in. I thought differently. He is my husband I was sure he wouldn't mind but I wasn't in an arguing mood. My body had started to numb. The anesthetist put some ice on my face and then at different spots on my body to see if the epidural was working. Each time she put the ice higher and higher and each time I could feel it less and less. The feeling wasn't gone it was just numb. I couldn't feel my toes at all but higher up it was just very tingly. When it was numb right up to my chest they were all set to begin. I had begun to shiver. I don't know if it was nerves or the cool room or the medicine pumping through my body but I was shivering badly. I felt drowsy and pretty out of it. They put up a screen in front of my face so I couldn't see what was going on and I guess so they couldn't see me either. I was glad for that.

Suddenly Myles was at my side. He was a sight for sore eyes. I was so happy he was there. I held his hand tightly. When I talked to him my voice shivered. I don't know what he was thinking at the time but he just smiled at me and made me feel calm. Just before I was wheeled away I told Myles that I thought we would need to sing our way through the surgery. We had talked about singing in labour before. It seemed like a nice way to vocalise pain and get through the contractions. There were no longer any contractions but it seemed a nice way to forget that people were chopping me up.

So we sang. As I lay there alone the song "Indescribable" had come into my mind so we sang that. Then we sung "Jesus Paid it All," our little girls favourite song. It did indeed feel like washing up in my tummy. I could feel pressure and movement but no pain. I didn't want to think about what was going on behind the screen. I just wanted to sing, stare into the eyes of my husband and wait for that beautiful little cry.

We finished those songs and she still wasn't out so on we went to "Mighty to Save." It wasn't the worlds best rendition. My voice was shaky and soft. But it was heartfelt.

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave.


Myles eyes started to water. I could see he looked so sad. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he just didn't like that I was being all cut up. I held his hand tightly and told him it was ok. That God was looking after us and our little girl would be there soon. Fancy that, a woman lying on a table with her guts hanging out consoling someone else. But that's how life rolls sometimes I guess.

We sang another chorus and remembered how good our God is. Singing those words we heard the doctor tell us our little girl was out. It was 4:18 am. We waited to hear her cry. It didn't come for what seemed like an eternity and then there it was. For the first time the voice of this precious little girl I had carried for so long. The voice I had waited so long to hear. The voice I had imagined hearing. I was filled with love. I couldn't see her, I could only hear her voice but Oh how I loved her. My little girl.

They asked Myles if he wanted to cut her cord and so he went and did that. I asked to hold her and feed her. They said she would be there soon. Another eternity passed and there was my little girl all bundled up in a blanket. She had the biggest, bluest eyes. She had such a sweet little face. She was so small and so new and so beautiful. She was just looking at us. She wasn't crying just looking. I only had one free arm. The other was having drugs pumped into it. I reached out to hold her. I lent in to kiss her and felt her soft skin on my lips. I looked at Myl and looked at her. We held her and talked to her and kissed each other. I wanted to so much to hold her properly but I was still all cut open. They needed to sew me up. She was so hungry. Her little mouth kept opening and she was making sucking noises. It was very sweet and I kept asking when I wold be able to feed her. They told me  would after we left theatre. I kept thinking about that crucial first hour but there was not a lot I could do.

When they had finished putting me back together I was put onto a different trolley. My little girl was taken away with Myl. I was still all numb and I will never forget the sensation of being moved from the operating table to the trolley. My body felt like a plank of wood. I was rocked over and lifted up and couldn't feel a thing. I was wheeled into the recovery room with Myl and our little girl following closely behind.

Someone was telling me about pain relief, someone was checking out my scar, someone took my blood pressure and temperature but I wasn't really paying attention. My body was still property of the medical profession but my mind was thinking about my new little girl. I wanted to see her again. Finally after they had done their stuff she came over for her very first feed. She was so hungry! I don't really remember how well it went. I think we did ok. It was just so nice to hold my little girl on my chest, cuddle her and smell her sweet baby smell.

They wheeled us up to the post-natal ward. I got to keep our little one on my chest for the ride. It was so nice. They wheeled us along the corridors and I was amazed to be wheeled into a single room. In classes they told us how unlikely we were to get one, that they usually saved them for people with problematic births. What I didn't realise at the time was that hey, emergency c-section = problematic birth. We got into the room and got settled in. Word had been sent to my poor mum waiting still in the labour ward and she would be arriving soon. I cuddled my little bundle and the midwives came in to do obs. Mum arrived and met her granddaughter. She was pretty pleased even though she missed out on the actual birth. She gave dad a call to tell him the news. He said he would be down after work. It was about 6am. We had been awake all night. Mum took our car home and went for a sleep. We had a sleep in our room. There was a pull out bed for Myl. I held my little girl on my chest while I slept. It was the nicest feeling.

Our little girl had arrived. She was safe and well. A little hungry but otherwise just dandy. The whole thing was less of a birth and more of a medical procedure but in the end we had our little girl out with us in the world and that is all that matters. The experience wasn't about what Myles or I wanted but about what needed to happen to bring Lucy to us. It was an incredibly humbling moment when I realised that. Our birth story went pretty much completely the opposite of how we "wanted" it to go except on one point. Our little girl is here and after that crazy birth adventure the real adventure began!

three weeks old

Our little girl is much more alert this week.

She loves face time. She smiles sometimes when we smile at her. She likes dancing with her dada.
She loves her dada. She is captivated by him. She just stares into his eyes. If she were a little older and not our precious daughter I'm sure I would be jealous.
She likes rough terrain and driving in the car. She cries when we stop at traffic lights.
She likes to move. She likes her bouncer and likes to bounce hard. 
She likes it when we sing to her. "Come thou Fount", "Jesus Paid it All", "Amazing Grace", "If I had Words." Works every time.
She likes feeding time. She gets all excited and starts to hyperventilate. Sometimes she gets confused and sucks her hand instead. She gets all confused when no milk comes out.
She likes being on her tummy when she is sad.

She gets sad a little more often these days but is usually soothed by a cuddle or a feed or a good bounce. Usually a feed. She is a hungry little goose.

She is still sleeping really well. We get a good long six hour stretch at night.

She has been out for coffee, to night church, to tenpin bowling, shopping at birkenhead point and to a cafe for lunch. After all these excursions she (and I) needed a nice nap.
We have had a lot of visitors this past week. Myls Mum and brother came to stay and lovely friends have come for meals, chats and cuddles.

She is such a blessing. I love her.

Dear little one...

You are finally here!
Being your mama has to be one of the
most wonderful things in the world
You are just as precious and wonder-
ful as I thought you would be.
I love giving you cuddles and staring
into your big blue eyes.
I love listening to the noises you make
I even love hearing you cry. You have
the sweetest little voice and I'm learning
how to figure out what you mean when
you cry so it's usually not too hard to make
you stop.
I love having you in our family and I love
watching your dada and you together.
It's pretty much the most adorable thing.

so glad you are here.

love
mama xxx

birth story (part two)

We arrived at the birth centre sometime around 11. It was one of the few times there has ever been a park. We went in to the front desk and the girl asked why we were there. I must admit I was stumped.
"Uhh, I'm having a baby." I said. She didn't look amused and asked for my yellow card. I guess night shift on the labour ward desk might not be as fun as it sounds.

She let us in and as we went into the birth centre out came a long lost friend of my mums. She had gone to church with us years ago and mum hadn't seen her since she had left. She is a midwife at the birth centre and mum knew this and told me to look out for her. I hadn't bumped into her until that night. She and Mum had a happy little meeting and she couldn't believe it was me going in to have a baby. The last time she saw me I would have been 4 or 5. We had almost forgotten that I was about to have a baby but eventually went inside.

The birth centre looks a whole lot different at night when you are going in to have a baby. I had been in there so many times in the last few weeks and imagined what it would be like going in there in labour. The midwife came to see us and indeed it was merconium in the waters. She broke some bad news. We couldn't have our little one in the birth centre. It was too high risk. Oh.
They would need to give me a drip to start contractions as they weren't strong enough. Oh. I would need to go to the labour ward and be on a heart monitor. Oh.

My perfect birth dream was falling down around my ears and how did I feel? I felt pretty calm. I think it was about then that my body started to take over. I felt this amazing calm sensation like everything would be ok. I am so thankful for this because if ever there was a time to panic in life it would have been this night.

Mum was asking the midwife about the option of waiting it out to see if the contractions started naturally. The midwife didn't seem to think the doctors in the labour ward would be too happy about that but they were pretty busy over there so there was a possibility I would be waiting a while anyway.

I was waiting a while. The midwife told us to get comfy. She set us up in one of the empty labour rooms. In all the excitement my contractions had stopped so I was pacing round the room trying to get them started again. I sat on the birthing ball and rocked, Myl gave me a massage. I moved around and did some of the exercises I had been practicing during pregnancy. We had brought our computer to listen to music on and still had old Lord of the Rings in the player so back we went to middle earth.

The midwife came in to check up on us every now and then. She got out her Doppler and listened to the heartbeat, checked my temperature and blood pressure. It was a little high so she was getting me to drink water. I had already drunk about 2 litres of water that day and probably drank another two in the labour room.

About an hour later a doctor came in from the labour ward to give me a cannula. I'm not sure what happened to the idea of waiting and seeing if labour would begin by itself. I was having a few contractions but they weren't very strong. I think they wanted the cannula in just in case. Boy oh boy was I nervous when she told me that she needed to put local anesthetic in my hand before putting in the needle. I thought it must hurt pretty bad if they need to do that. Myl came over and held my hand. I braced for impact and it didn't really come.
"It's over." said the doctor.
I told her I barely felt a thing. She seemed pleased. It wasn't all that nice having a big tube in my hand. It was trickier to do some of my exercises. I felt less like a mother and more like a patient. But I tried not to worry.

As the orcs closed in on Minas Tirith and Gandalf spoke rather beautifully about death to young Pippin the midwife came in for the last time. They had a room for me in the labour ward. It was time to go. I stood up and gathered my things. We walked out of the birth centre and crossed the corridor into the scary world of the labour ward. It was about 2am. The time had flown. I now know how people survive through twelve or more hour labours. The time just goes by without you realising it. An hour feels like a few moments.

We walked down the corridors and into a new room. The first thing I noticed was the cold. It was quite a few degrees colder than in the birth centre. The lights were all on. It was so bright. It felt sterile and unfriendly. But it was where we needed to be. Myl went to move the car. We were still in the 20 minute parking spot. I don't know if we got a ticket. Maybe they are kinder at night. Mum set up the music and I stood around looking lost. We were introduced to our new midwife Kelly. She apologised that it wasn't the birth centre and said she would try and make it as nice as she could.

I was set up on the bed with a heart monitor. They tried to use one that would allow me to move around as much as I could but it wasn't working. This also meant I couldn't use the shower or bath. My heart sank. I was hoping for a water birth and it had just gone out the window. I tried not to worry and felt that calm wash over me. I felt a little nervous about how I was going to cope with labour without the water. I tried not to think about it. One moment at a time.

Kelly said she needed to do an internal exam. She said I was 3 or 4cm dilated. I felt quite proud of myself. She also said she could feel something a bit strange so she would need the midwife in charge to have a bit of a check. This was the second most painful moment of the whole night. The most painful being when she did it again a bit later. The second midwife said I was only 1cm dilated and hardly effaced at all and that is why Kelly thought I was 3-4cm. That is also why it hurt so much. I felt deflated. 1cm? Surely not!

I had a little cry when everyone left the room. 1cm dilated, in the labour ward, hooked up to machines on the bed, no shower, no bath, most likely going to be artificially induced. What went wrong? Where was my perfect natural birth?

The doctor came in to discuss going on the labour inducing drip. I asked if we could wait a bit longer to see if labour would start naturally. He said that we had been waiting a few hours already and nothing had happened. (1cm oh boy) I looked at Myl. He gave me a comforting look and held my hand. So it was time for the drip. I was told it would make the labour quicker and more intense. This scared me a bit but Mum and Myl convinced me it would be ok. Kelly told me I could get up out of bed and move around a bit (at the side of the bed) and that we could still use the ball or move the bed to an upright position. It seemed like a weak compromise. I just wanted to hide under the covers. I didn't want to labour like this. I wanted to hide and wake up and have my natural birth. I wasn't freaking out but I was pretty sad.

They put me on a saline drip to start with to try and get the little ones heart rate to calm down. It was just on the edge of being too high. I kept needing to go to the bathroom. This was no mean feat. I had a drip in one hand and two heart monitors strapped to my belly. Myl would carry all the bits and pieces and I would waddle off into the bathroom. The midwives kept coming in and out so I liked being in the bathroom where they couldn't come and get me. I would linger in there holding on to Myl and chatting to him. They would ask if I was ok and I would waddle back out.

I had regained some of my calm. Sure it was so far from my ideal but if I needed to give birth strapped to a machine then I was going to do it with style. The contractions were coming stronger and stronger because the labour drip was starting to work. I was standing up to work through them. I was swaying through them and it felt good. I couldn't move far but I could move. I would hold Myls hand and breathe deeply.

Kelly came back in to check how I was doing. She looked at the monitor and asked me to hop back on the bed. She said that our little girl didn't like me standing up. She explained that whenever I had a contraction the little ones heart rate went down. This was confusing. It was too high before and I was drinking loads of water to bring it down and now it was too low? She called in the other midwife to have a look. They had worried looks on their faces. I didn't know what it all meant. Painful moment numero uno came when the second midwife put a monitor on our little girls head. Yes you can imagine. Ow! She needed to check that the monitor on my belly was showing the right thing. It turns out it was and in came a flood of doctors. They were looking at the monitor with concerned faces and started talking about a caesarian.

This was not what I expected but by this stage I was in another zone. I didn't really want a caesarian but I wanted my little baby so much. I would just have to do what needed to be done. The doctors were talking about prepping me for surgery and about anesthetic and epidurals. It's all a bit of a blur but I remember they said that Myles could come into the theatre if I was going to have an epidural. I was thinking "I don't want an epidural." but then the other option was a general anesthetic or being awake while they cut me open which is not really an option at all.

I don't remember saying it but at this moment I asked my mum if our little girl was going to die. She told me that she was going to be fine. I must have been worried but I don't really remember. Within a matter of moments I was being wheeled out of my room and into theatre. Myles was walking beside me in scrubs holding my hand and looking into my eyes. It felt so surreal. I had given up the control of my body and my birth. Our little girl would be coming soon.

To be continued...


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two weeks old

Our little one has been here for two weeks already!
It has been so wonderful getting to know her and how to look after her.
She has the sweetest little cry and the most kissable little cheeks.

She loves the milk and was born hungry.
She was pretty skinny when she was born and has put on 500 grams.
They usually like babies to regain their birth weight by week two but she is heavier.
She is a good feeder and is so cute when she is hungry.
It hasn't all been roses. I got mastitis last week which was pretty sore. Thank God for anti-biotics and a midwife mama.

She is sleeping through the night. Would we call going to sleep round 11 waking up round 7 sleeping through the night? I would. It's lovely.

She likes having a bath but not being naked before and after.
She likes reading Narnia with her dada but not when Edmund did a nortie and ran away.
She likes cuddles.
She likes bouncing in her bouncer at dinner time.
She likes looking into eyes.
She likes being sung to.
She likes sleeping with her hands up around her face.

We went to Bathurst to visit my mum and dad last weekend.
Lucy loves her granny and (dad hasn't chosen a name yet but let's call him poppy).
She went for walks round the garden singing songs with my dad.
She had her first outing in town and her first public feed. It was a little awkward but we got there in the end.

She is such a lovely little baby. She is very calm and good natured. She pulls funny little faces and smiles at us.
She is such a wonderful blessing. I love her so so much.

birth story (part one)

We had been waiting for our little girl a long time. My due date came and went and I was getting so eager to meet this little person who I knew was growing inside of me.

On Monday the 28th of March, my Mum and I went walking on King St Newtown. We were on a mission to get some buttons for a sweet little cardigan mum was making for the little one. There is a fantastic button shop right down the end of King St so we decided to walk down there looking at shops on the way. We thought this might be a nice way to bring on the little one. I guess we were right. I was feeling pretty pooped by the time we finished walking. We wound up at the Berkelouw book shop. I flopped down in a chair and made up my mind to stay there indefinitely.

Myles arrived and we had some ramen. The bookshop has a ramen bar. How cool is that. It felt a bit strange to be sipping noodles surrounded by books but the ramen was good. As we walked out of the shop all of a sudden I felt a strong cramp. The kind of cramp I needed to hang onto Myles to get through. It was about 6:30. I got excited. I hadn't felt anything like this before. It hurt so bad but so good at the same time. We got into the car and the cramp came back. Oh boy it hurt. On the way to Newtown that morning I had enjoyed going over the bumps, thinking they might bring our little one on but heading back every bump felt like torture. I writhed around in my seat and longed to be home already.

When we got home the contraction had ended. I got all pro active and finished packing my bag. I put in some baby clothes and a few last minute things. My excitement may have been a little premature as I had gone through a grand total of two contractions but I felt like doing something. After a little while of me prancing round the house doing labour exercises to encourage contractions and getting all maternal, we settled down to watch The Lord of The Rings - Return of the King. (as you do) I was desperately trying to not get my hopes up. I felt like something was  going to happen but had felt like that before.

The contractions weren't too strong but they were coming pretty regularly. About 5-7 minutes apart. I would have one and ask, "How long was that one?" getting more and more excited each time someone said, "five minutes." They were just not very strong. Frodo and Sam were so close to getting that ring into mount doom. I was watching but was so distracted. I was thinking of all my labour exercises and breathing techniques. I was wondering if ramen was a suitable food to keep my energy levels up. I kept getting up and needing to go to the bathroom. Just as old Shelob was sticking Frodo with her pincers I got up to go and my waters broke. All over the lounge room floor. (I'll leave it at that) Something was definitely happening.

I got in the shower and stood there till the water went lukewarm. (Darn small hot water heater) I was shivering with excitement. Myl and I exchanged some meaningful looks. We would be meeting our little one soon. The gears were all in motion. We called the birth centre full of anticipation. The midwife told me to try and go to sleep and call in the morning. My contractions were not strong enough. I was pretty gutted. I wanted to go in and get this baby out. I hung up the phone and went to go back to Frodo.

Now this was the point where I am eternally grateful to have a midwife for a mother. Mum pulled me aside and checked the colour of the waters. "I think there's some meconium in there." she said. I had not really noticed the colour at all. I would have happily gone to bed and waited for who knows what. I am so thankful my mum was there.

So we called the birth centre again and I told her what we had discovered. She told us to come in straight away to get checked out. We were back in action. I was excited and apprehensive. We got the bags together and went out to the car to go in.

to be continued...

little girls

We brought our little girl home from the hospital in the same dress that I was brought home in. 

 

The one at the top is me.

I win on the hair stakes. I had a LOT of hair. Little sweets is a bit of a baldy and possibly a blonde.

Our little girl is much smaller than I was but I think it's pretty nice that we are already sharing clothes.

I wonder if she will be taller than me one day.

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guest post: Karis & her beautiful candles

 Hi friends. Here is the first of the lovely guest posts while I look after little Lucy girl. This is Karis a lovely friend of mine who has just created her very own etsy store. But I'll let her tell you about it.

 


Hello my name is Karis Nightingale and I am a sister, a daughter, a friend, an artist and a child of God. I love singing, freshly baked bread and my lop eared bunny Butters. I cook, I read, I paint, I create. I have a dry, complicated, sarcastic sense of humour and I can take some getting used to. But as they say, anything worth having is worth working for.

I have just opened a store on Etsy called Sans Darkness. Sans means without and I have used it in my title because I wanted to highlight that if you have one of my candle holders you will be without darkness. I am both nervous and excited about having my own store. Creating candle holders has been a hobby of mine for some time now and I am pleased to be able to share them with the world.






 
The process of opening an online store has been both time consuming and exhilarating. I have made many mistakes in the process of creating the perfect candle holders for my store. In the end I am satisfied with the final product and I hope you are too.



I have also grown closer to my brother throughout the process. Tim, my only brother, is a graphic designer and has helped me by designing the banner at the top of the page and photo-shopping the photographs so that they look as professional as they do. My boyfriend Alaric has also helped me by giving me feedback and coming with me to buy certain supplies for making the candle holders. I could not have done any of it without them.

Please feel free to visit my new store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SansDarkness or email me at sansdarkness@gmail.com

Karis Nightingale