A Matter of Choice

It's hard to believe that it was 8 years ago this week that I first walked into my local Slimming World group. I had no idea how it was going to change my life but change it it did (You can read about it all on my Slimming World page if I've not told you it a million times already!) After just over a year I had reached my target weight of 11 stone having lost just over 4 st, and I managed to stay there or thereabouts for well over a year. I was a complete convert, I continued going to my group and it was reasonably easy to stay at target, days on and off plan balanced themselves out and I didn't feel deprived or like I was missing out on anything, in fact it was quite the opposite, for the first time I was wearing heels and skinny jeans and stopping dead in my tracks walking past shop windows as I didn't recognise myself! Then I got pregnant and my initial thoughts of pretty much sticking to the plan throughout the pregnancy soon went flying out the window! O...

This photo was taken this time last year, on or just after my wedding anniversary and due date of 20th August.  I spent a lot of time in that pool, although rarely sitting like that - the effort needed to get in and out of that position was huge! I really missed being able to get in the pool from the side as there was no way I could do it with the bump! I'll never forget the moment when at my first scan at about 9 weeks pregnant the doctor gave me the estimated due date.....  I think I could have cried - AUGUST!!!   ARE YOU SURE! I had been dreading the summer heat all year and it was a justified concern. Daily temperatures of 40 plus degrees, big bump and a lively 3 year old are not a good combination! Everything seemed to be twice as difficult, it turns out I'm a bit rubbish in the height of the summer anyway but shopping, cleaning, even sleeping was just horrendous.  God knows how many times I looked at the calender, at the days which seemed to be...

Apart from the birth of Louka, 2012 was not one of my favourite years, it started off with Aaron being out of work and us getting used to the fact we were to have another baby.  Then Aaron got a job which was great although I was plain terrified at the thought of being pregnant, dealing with Leo and eventually having a baby almost without him as he had to work long hours, 7 days a week. Then it got hot,  oh boy did it get hot!   I will never NEVER forget how bloody hot that summer felt being nine months pregnant in August!  I wasn't happy, it was so uncomfortable, it's hard going at the best of times when the temperatures are consistently in the high 30s / low 40s but with a very large baby bump it was horrendous! I wrote a post 'When the sunshine's grey'  and for the first time I had a good old moan on my blog. I was whinging but I stand by it all - I was pregnant, hot, bored and generally not a happy bunny! When Aaron started work again this year I...

When I was pregnant with Leo I was quite concerned about getting stretch marks, I'd lost weight beforehand and had finally managed to achieve a fairly flat stomach and was wondered what it would look like after my little man's arrival. Although everyone says nothing can get rid of stretch marks completely I knew that there were things you could do to try and prevent them, and many people had recommended  Bio Oil to me - the No1 selling scar and stretch mark product. I used Bio Oil, everyday throughout most of my pregnancy and actually ended up with just a couple of stretch marks appearing in the last week or so. (See, THIS is why I don't 'do late')  I abandoned the oil after Leo was born when I had finished the bottle as I never got round to buying a new one thinking the oil was mainly for preventing the marks. I rarely applied anything to my skin during my second pregnancy and I can see now that it certainly makes a difference, having been left...

After the hugely painful but overall brilliant birth of Loukas I was taken back to the ward. It had two beds but at that point I had it all to myself, with TV and free wi-fi plus a great view I was very comfortable. The midwives took Louka for a few hours so I could rest which was most appreciate. They loved this 'big baby' with his head of gorgeous blonde hair, something which must be very unusual for them. They often popped in for no apparent reason during my stay just to see him! I was quite happy in the hospital unlike when I had Leo where I couldn't wait to get out, although this time I was appreciating the time to rest before starting the new chapter of my life with two children.  Aaron came to see me after work and to meet his second son. He stayed just a short while so he could get home relive my parents and put Leo to bed.  My parents then popped in afterwards as I had not felt up to seeing Leo right away, preferring to be able to greet him properl...

You can find  Part 1 here. After checking my blood pressure and monitoring baby's heartbeat I was hooked up to the drip to start the contractions off at 10.30am. It was a low dose to begin with so the contractions started quickly but  were mild and caused me no problems. Claire was great at keeping me moving, something I didn't do at all with Leo. We walked up and down the ward corridor chatting about all kinds of random stuff while I kept tangling myself up with my drip!  She had me bouncing on the birth ball and doing squats, all things I wouldn't have been doing without her encouragement. The midwives were great at letting me keep moving, something they are not generally known for after induction, and they only popped in now and again just to monitor me. I had been told no food or drink, something guaranteed to upset me in any circumstances but Claire smuggled me sips of water, snack-a-jacks and fruit polos every time they turned their backs  - a c...

Loukas is now 6 weeks old and I've finally finished writing my birth story - it's quite long so I've split it into several posts, the rest will be coming up over the next few days. Although I didn't have a terrible birth with Leo it wasn't the best fun I'd ever had (you can read the story here)   12 hours of labour with gas & air, pethidine  ventouse delivery followed by stitches. I felt like I'd been run over by a truck afterwards and was very uncomfortable for weeks. My second birth was very different, It's taken me an age to write but here is my story, I tried (and failed) to keep it short and sweet so will split it into several posts just in case I accidentally break the interweb or something! I was very nervous at first about giving birth again, especially as I was to be doing it here in Cyprus. I'd heard that they don't really 'do' pain relief - no gas and air, no mentions of epidural (although the thought of those make...

Some of the concerns I had about giving birth here in Cyprus were the things I had heard about their eagerness to do caesarean births and the 'whole Doctor knows best attitude with no discussion available. Since hearing from many women it seems that this is not always the case, but can happen, as this story from Veronica shows,  my last post in the 'Birth in Cyprus' series ..... I am a foreigner like you and had very similar concerns to yourself about giving birth in Cyprus not so long ago; I thought I will share my experience.  I gave birth to 2 children (they are 2 and 4 now), at the same private clinic (Maternity center in Nicosia ). Both were natural, though my husband and I went through quite some trouble looking for a doctor who would agree with an idea of natural birth. In fact, the very first doctor we've met was insisting on a caesarean. I did have some complications in my pregnancy, but after a thorough research we found that cesarea...

My latest birth story I have to share with you is from a lady who has twice given birth in the Makario General hospital in Nicosia. Here are her answers to my questions..... How much did it cost? - € 80-100 but my husband is considered a government employee and has a card for the hospital. Cost also depends on the number of days and room you have. What was the antenatal care like? Good but read below about patience! You also just need to ask ask ask questions! Sometimes I missed the one on one with my first doctor at her clinic but it was still worth it. What do you wish you had known about having a baby here beforehand? -A lot of colleagues/friends passed on info which was great! - I went to the breastfeeding seminars which was extremely useful and informative. I also got mastitis after my 2 baby and they still offered help and support! -Mothercare gives good discounts until baby is 1 year old and most things are good quality! I live their all in ones! -Daycares/nur...

This week's birth story comes from a Romanian lady who gave birth this year in the General hospital in Limassol. She was initially nervous about this decision as her friends were advising her to go Private.  I am pleased to say that yet again I'm sharing a story of someone who was happy overall with the care in the General hospital. Here is her story.... Two months ago I had my first baby. I gave birth in Limassol, in the Municipal Hospital . I was so pleased with the antenatal care and also with the help I got during labor and after birth that I've decided to write my story. So...since I found out I was pregnant I decided to go for my routine check-ups in the hospital. All the tests, ultrasounds, etc are free of charge and the help of midwives through the whole pregnancy is essential. Yes, is true that you are waiting many hours, but I was happy to find easily someone to trust, to ask anything it cross my mind and t...

It's hard to believe that Loukas is over 2 weeks old already! The time has passed so fast despite the lack of sleep and huge change of routine.  I've not been online as much as usual as I've been quite a bit busy so although it's quite high on my list of things to do, writing my birth story hasn't been something I've felt up to doing yet. Fortunately,  I received an email from Claire, my Doula who very kindly wrote the story as she saw it, and sent me some lovely photos from the day. I'll still be writing my own story but I really enjoyed reading this so wanted to share it here too. "Emmas and Loukas Birth Story, through the eyes of their doula…" On Friday night I prepared my doula bag, took out the clothes I would wear for the next day and set my alarm. Usually a doula doesn’t have much notice when she is heading out to a birth but this one was different, you were scheduled for an induction on Saturday the 25 th August 2012 at 9am . ...

Most of the birth stories I have received so far have been at the General hospital,  although all have been positive the private clinics for those who wish to use them and can afford them are not all bad! This is Rebecca's story, she is due to have her second baby here in Cyprus and like her first birth is planning to use the private clinic again..... I'm Rebecca, I'm 24 years old and married to a Cypriot man of whom I had a little boy with last June. I started by going to the General hospital in Paphos but after 7 months being herded into a room with about 60 pregnant women all waiting to see the same doctor who couldn't speak or understand much English, waiting hours on end in stuffy claustrophobic circumstances I decided to go to a private clinic. It was then I started seeing Dr Kontos at the Iasis Clinic. What a breath of fresh air it was to have someone speak to you in fluent English and make time to hear exactly what you have to say. Each appoi...

It's ironic isn't it that after the birth of a baby and you regain the ability to get comfortable for a good nights sleep without a big baby bump to accomodate, that the big baby bump becomes a big (certainly in my case with a 9lb 4oz baby!) alarm clock which wakes you instead! I was really struggling during the last few weeks of my pregnancy to get comfortable at night, it was achieved with a combination of pillows and heavy use of the air conditioning - essential when temperatures were not dropping much below 30 degrees at night! This week I received a  Maternity and Nursing pillow from Theraline . I'd always liked the look of these pillows after seeing them whilst pregnant with Leo but had only used maternity pillows which are much smaller. This is what they say about the 'Original Maternity and Nursing Pillow' The most comfortable pillow for pregnancy and breastfeeding Stable support during your pregnancy Relief for legs, belly and a stressed b...

I honestly didn't think I'd be writing a 39 week bump update but I'm still here so here we go! I would have put good money on the fact they had got my dates wrong and I'd worked out my due date to be 8th August. I suppose I could still be right and be overdue like I was with Leo who only came after my waters were broken in hospital.   I'm still hoping this is the case as they only let you go a week over here and I'd rather avoid induction if possible.  I swore when pregnant the first time that if it ever happened again I'd pretend my due date was actually later than it was as I spent the last few weeks expecting him to show up any moment, I can't believe I've gone and done the opposite this time and brought it forward!    Although I'm trying (and sometimes succeeding!) to make the most of the last few days, it does seem to be turning into the longest pregnancy in the world! Even Leo agrees...... I've had so many on and off p...

Today I am sharing Lisa's story with you,   Lisa had her first baby here in Cyprus in the General hospital in Larnaca after being told it was very unlikely that she would be able to have a baby. I'll hand you over.... I wanted to share my experience with you as it was excellent and a wonderful experience. I am British and have lived in Cyprus for 6 years. Firstly I want to tell you that in UK they told me it was very unlikely that I would ever have a child due to having poly cystic ovarian syndrome, and they never offered any help or advice. Here I went to Larnaca general hospital and my first appointment was with a specialist and was within a month of making the appointment. They were never negative like in the UK and for the first time in years I had hope. So here are my comments for you.     Did you have your baby in a private clinic or in the general hospital? – Larnaca general How much did it cost ? – Nothing as I have a medical card Wo...