I had hoped for a home waterbirth when I was expecting my first daughter, Jessica, in 2011 but when she was diagnosed antenatally with a complex heart condition, our plans changed and I chose to birth her in hospital as she needed heart surgery very soon after birth. Although Jessica’s birth (with the help of… Read More
This week’s Prose for Thought poem is for my baby girl who will be celebrating her first birthday on Monday: Little one snuggled up so nice and warm Can it really be a year since the day you were born? That newborn baby has gone forever She’s now a little girl – so big, so… Read More
This weekend has seen a very big milestone for my baby girl as Sophie took her very first couple of steps on her own and was so proud of herself! It seems only yesterday that she was a tiny baby and now she’s starting to walk and is getting into everything and thoroughly enjoying it!… Read More
At the beginning of August, Sophie received a certificate at our Tiny Talk classes for doing her first sign and last week she received the next certificate – for being able to do five different signs. She can now wave, clap and sign ‘milk’, ‘mummy’ and ‘all gone’. Being able to sign really helped Jessica… Read More
With Sophie having just turned 11 months, we’ve just hit a lovely little milestone – being able to stand up without needing to pull herself up on furniture and then standing unsupported for a little while. At the moment, she usually only manages a few seconds before she gets all excited about the fact that… Read More
My daughter Jessica was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). This is a complex CHD where the left side of the heart doesn’t form correctly. Basically this means that Jessica only has half a working heart. Babies born with HLHS need to have heart surgery in order to survive.… Read More
The two photos below were taken three years ago today. They capture some precious moments with Jessica as we prepared for her to go to theatre for the second time since she was born. I remember it like it was yesterday. The anxious waiting, not wanting to leave her cot for a moment. Wanting to… Read More