kiphakes.com

Bombay Fusion, Chelmsford = Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:07:00 +0000

I'm always ready to bemoan poor customer service and stick the knife in, but if I'm impressed with somewhere I'll sing it from the roof-tops! Bombay Fusion in Chelmsford is AWESOME.

We've been using them for years now after a menu popped through the door one day, they've become our Indian Take Away of choice now! We've become such regular customers they even bought Loz a card when we ordered on her birthday! :) We've never had a bad meal or experience with them, every time has been fantastic!

Even better is that they are now on 'Just Eat' so you can order in a few clicks! Yes their website isn't brilliant, but if you're looking for a top class Indian Takeaway, you really can't go wrong.

Guest Post - Planning the Best Father’s Day Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Every year, Father’s Day provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the contributions that fathers make to our everyday lives. This year Father’s Day falls on Sunday June 17th, so it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll do for the special day. For those of us with children, there’s no better way to let dad know he is loved and appreciated by the whole family than to plan a fun day with the kids. Read this article to find cards, gift ideas, and family activities that are sure to make this Father’s Day one to remember.

Before the big day, get the kids involved by having them make a homemade gift for dad. Ask them to draw and colour a picture of their favourite memory with dad and write a message to him (either in their own handwriting or yours) telling them how much they love him. More advanced craftsmen, artists, and writers can make a “World’s Best Dad” trophy or certificate on the computer, or write a poem that tells him why he makes such a great dad. Another option is to personalise Father’s day cards with handwritten messages, voice recordings, and pictures of dad and the kids. Once the gifts are done, keep them tucked away somewhere he won’t find him so he’ll be surprised when the time comes.

On Father’s Day, you’ll want dad to feel special from the moment he wakes up to the moment he falls asleep. Tell your kids the plan is to treat him like king for the day. Have dad sleep in while you prepare breakfast; the kids can help by setting the table, serving as your official taste testers, and putting out their homemade gifts for dad. Wake dad up to eat breakfast and present him with the gifts, making sure the kids take turns telling dad about their favourite memories with him. In addition to his regular presents, give him coupons for you and the kids to take over his regular chores for the day. He’ll get a kick out of watching you lug out the trash and rinse the dishes while he props his feet up and watches TV.

Make the day extra fun by planning an activity that the whole family can do together. If your family loves films, make some popcorn just the way dad likes it and show a movie that celebrates fathers—think along the lines of Mr. Mom (1983), The Lion King (1994), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), and We Bought a Zoo (2011). If you prefer to spend the day out of the house, go for a game of crazy golf—the whole family will have fun trying to putt around the sand traps and water obstacles. Afterwards, treat him to his favourite flavour of ice cream or another delectable dessert he loves.

Disclaimer - This is a guest post from Hallmark Cards

A normal weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:44:00 +0000

I was hoping this weekend would be a bit more normal, despite having a newborn in the mix. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised at how well it all went.

G has been fab, she's taken the 'Big Sister' role with such gusto, she's just as fab as I thought she'd be! She's always trying to help us and her little brother out, I'm very proud of her, she's a credit to us all! We're still finding our feet with J, Loz has the feeding down to a fine art now which is great. Also last night we actually had more sleep than we'd had recently because J actually slept in his Moses Basket! I could have wept with relief when I woke up knowing he'd spent a good few hours in there, and was crying because he was hungry, rather than him not wanting to settle!

We had some visitors yesterday which was nice, Jen and Colin first, and then Dad, Pearl and Ben later on. It's starting to feel less stressful having guests now that we're finding out feet with J. Next weekend is going to be a real test as we've 2 x 5(ish) hours up North and back again with little man. It's a 'trial' journey so we can see how J is in the car for so long, when and where are good places to stop, and how long it will take with added stops etc. It will be nice to see the Northern contingent of the family, and Lozzie's small army of friends, although not Mark, he's a cunt. :)

Where has this week gone?

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:46:00 +0000

This week has been a bit shit... I've felt the full spectrum of emotions, to be cheesy, it's been a roller-coaster.

J is settling in to life fairly well, he's starting to sleep in between feeds and more awake during the day, the thing is, he won't sleep in his Moses basket. He needs to be pressed onto someone, tummy to tummy and he'll happily doze off, he has slept in his basket for a few hours once in a while, but only on his tummy.

Yes. I know this is a mortal 'you're gonna kill your baby' sin.

So we're not doing that! I've ordered a Summer Infant SwaddleMe Cotton from Amazon to see if wrapping him up in that will help him settle. It's due to arrive today, so we'll soon find out! :)

Thankfully - I think everything is SLOWLY slotting into place, we had a horrific day yesterday, we had to take Loz to hospital as the midwife suspected she had an infection. We spent nearly six hours in the hospital yesterday, which was rather draining for all of us! The annoying this was we were actually seen, and Loz diagnosed relatively quickly, there was a three hour wait for the fucking medication though, which was annoying.

Loz seems a bit brighter today and not wincing every time she moves, which is an improvement, and thanks to some stellar care from her Mum, we both got some sleep last night! I'm really looking forward to this weekend, not only will neither of us have to worry about work it's our 'long weekend' with G, so she gets to spend some quality time with her brother! :)

This made me laugh..

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:32:00 +0000

The image was taken by my (hopefully soon to be!) Brother in Law. Had to share..

Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged - Parenting Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:41:00 +0000

This isn't a religious post - don't worry, I just couldn't think of a better title...

Parenting is hard work.. This wonderful video from Tim Minchin sums it up beautifully.

Having a newborn in the house once again has made me remember just how keen everyone is to push their 'recommended' ideals for their children onto you and your child. If you're not doing it their way, it's the ol' shake of the head and sucking air through the teeth routine. You name it, someone has an opinion on it, very rarely is there a middle ground, you're either right or wrong.

I *hate* this.

There is no 'way' to parent a child. Parenting comes from learning, knowledge, luck and making mistakes.

I respect and listen to people with opinions of both sides of the coin, those who've tried different things and made a judgement based on their experience. Rather than those people who swear blind you *must* do this (because they read a book about it) or you and your baby are a failure.

The ol' favourite one is 'Breast Vs. Bottle'. G was bottle fed, it worked well, and she's grown into a beautiful and amazing young lady. J is getting Boob, and I've no doubt he'll thrive too. I've got a list of 'pros' and 'cons' for both in my head, in all honesty, they feel equal. Even if I favoured one over the other, I wouldn't constantly praise one and bad mouth the other, I'd offer my thoughts and feelings on both. You want to bottle feed? Yay you! Want to give your child some titty milk? You go girl!

You need to do what is best for YOU as parents, and YOUR child, take advice with a pinch of salt because you will find the right way, it's there, somewhere in between all the facts and opinion. Don't let others make you feel bad about your parenting choices, do what you think is best, and anyone who doesn't respect your choices can fuck off.

A Birth Story - 01/05/12

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:14:00 +0000

I was woken by a wife in pain around 5am - she'd been awake since 4am. It looked like Baby Hakes was on his way!

The contractions seemed to be stronger than she'd felt a week or so earlier, each one made her pause and catch her breath. I suggested that I time them using the App on my phone to see if there was any pattern at all but there wasn't really; they seemed to be regular and then go wildly out. Around 9.30am her waters broke and the contractions started to snap into a regular three minute cycle.

Loz called the Labour Ward and explained we already had an appointment with the consultant at 10.15 and they suggested we go along to that to see if Loz was indeed in labour. We made our way to the hospital and in the car the contractions dropped to every two minutes. With the pain seeming to get more and more intense I dumped the car in the car park and took Loz into the Hospital.

After negotiating the large amount of security doors we finally got to the Labour Ward. Tthen a nasty contraction hit. With Loz doubled over in pain in the corridor a nurse told us something we didn't want to hear.

'Erm.... we're full.'

I looked back blankly at her. I had no words to say.

After taking some details, she found a room for us. It looked like a disused bedroom. She sat Loz down and got her some water and promised she'd get us sorted out. The contractions seemed to get more furious each time they hit - everything was happening very fast.

The nurse said we could have a cubicle in the 'Day Assessment Unit' for now, and they'd do their best to get us into the Labour Ward and into a Birthing Room as soon as possible. The DAU cubicles were all very quiet, with the sounds of little heartbeats of unborn children providing a rhythmic soundtrack. It wasn't really the place for labour. Loz was strapped to the monitor and then told she'd be examined soon. The contractions didn't seem to end and she looked in agony.

The midwife came back, examined her and said she was 4cm dilated and doing well. As the DAU didn't have any Gas and Air piped into the walls she said she would try and get a canister bought up to ease the pain. It was about 11.00 by now and the canister was nowhere in sight. The pain looked excruciating and constant. Loz grabbed my arm, stared hard into my eyes and growled...

'GET ME THE MOTHERFUCKING DRUGS... NOW!'

For someone normally so calm and placid, it was pretty odd hearing Loz say that, and the way she said it - think Reagan when possessed in 'The Exorcist' :) I ran off to find the midwife and she promised me the gas and air would be there soon. I went to back to a screaming Loz who was feeling the need to push. The midwife came back and said they'd found a bedroom on the DAU and that had Gas and Air on tap, they moved the bed into the room.

The midwife explained to Loz how the Gas and Air worked. Loz snatched it from her, taking some deep breaths on it... Within minutes, the room was quiet. The G+A was working its magic and helping Loz through the pain. Not long after Loz's Mum arrived and I filled her in on what had happened so far. Loz snapped out of her G+A haze and smiled a squiffy smile and said, 'Mum!'

The midwife came back and looked at the monitor. Little man's heart rate was all over the place and she summoned a doctor to look at the trace. The midwife examined Loz and seem to spring into life. She ran out of the room and grabbed a trolley full of implements and came back. She quickly unpacked lots of bits and pieces and it looked like little man's arrival was imminent.
The doctor came and left soon after. Little man's heart rate was back to normal and he was actually being born. I had told Loz that I didn't want to watch 'the business end' when he was being born as I'm a bit squeamish. I didn't really have a choice as the midwife ordered me to hold back one of her legs. I did as I was told! The midwife took away the G+A and gave Loz some instructions. There were two or three pushes and out popped his head, then three more and he was out!

Cleaning up!

They promptly put him on Loz's tummy. He was blue. Very blue and deadly silent. I saw him twitching, but Loz was concerned as he wasn't crying (as was I). I reassured her he was moving and okay, but the midwife took him out of the room and asked me to come outside with her. They used a bit of suction, and some oxygen, and he sprung into life with an almighty scream. They cleaned him up, clamped the cord and swaddled him.

I carried him back to the room and let him have a cuddle with Grandma while they delivered the placenta. I must admit, I concentrated on getting a few nice photos of little man rather than watching the last stage. Just the thought of a placenta makes me gag, let alone watching it being delivered! :)

Cuddles with Grandma

Finally, Loz was able to have her first proper cuddle with her Son! It was clear she was in a state of shock though as in less than three hours from arriving in the car park, she was a Mum!

Cuddles with Mummy

Team Mosster with the newest member :)

We'd been told that a first labour is normally slow and painful. This one had been quick and painful! I still can't believe it how fast everything happened as I really thought we'd be there for hours. They gave Loz the option of staying overnight in the ward but as little man was well, Loz wanted to come home. We were home for 19.30 and we had a lovely 'Two for Tuesday' from Dominos as a naughty treat :)

Pizza, Baby, Beer #win

I'm Famous!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:23:00 +0000

(In Leeds - to a few thousand people).

My piece on 'feeling like a Daddy' has been published in 'Boo Magazine'.

If you want to have a look click here to read it. I'm on page 13! :)

Normal service will be resumed shortly..

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Hello! Obviously the birth of little man has left our household a bit crazy, we're both working too, so obviously the blog is falling behind! I've half written the slightly amusing 'birth story' which I'll publish soon! :)

In the mean time, bare with me and normal service will be resumed shortly! :)

Welcome Baby Hakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:06:00 +0000

Baby James Hakes arrived at 12.51pm today weighing a massive 9lb 7oz. Everyone is fine and dandy and we should be home tonight! Will post all about it when I've got time.

Yawn face Is stuff happening?

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:15:00 +0000

Well I've been awake for over 4 hours now.. I think Loz has been awake for several more than that!

Starting to think Baby Hakes will be immanent. The cool contraction timer app I found is getting a fair bit of use. We're actually due at the hospital in an hour to see the consultant, so one way or another we'll know what's happening!

Will try and keep you all posted!

Any news?

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:06:00 +0000

No.

Baby Hakes is officially late.

It's sad and frustrating as the size and weight of such a humongous baby is taking its toll on Loz, but we have to wait for nature to take its course (or the consultant to decide when to intervene). We are both getting asked a lot (really - a lot) if anything is happening, it's wonderful that so many people care, but frustrating trying to find nice ways of writing 'No' over and over!

Trust me, when it happens, you'll all probably know, whether you care or not, my two phones are glued to me at all times, and are filled up with charge. I'm so connected to 'the world' sometimes I feel like my head is tethered into 'The Matrix',

I promise - the second anything vaguely interesting happens, you'll know.

Virgin Media vs. Sky - Cost comparison / First impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Oooh tidy wires!

Okay, so yesterday I had 'Virgin Media' installed. The time slot was 10am-2pm and at 10.30am I had a knock on the door from an installer. Excellent. The installation went very smoothly; the two guys were quick, polite and have done a very neat job of the cabling. They ran it where I wanted it to go too. Excellent!

After about two and a half hours, the job was done - one Tivo, one V HD, one Phone Point and one Superhub. It probably would have been two hours but there was a slight hitch with the phone line. As soon as the engineers left, the first thing I did was do a Speedtest. I'd heard horror stories about Virgin. Lots of throttling, traffic shaping and slow speeds. I'm paying for an up to 60meg service and thankfully I wasn't disappointed.

Speedy!

I also tested the connection throughout the evening too and it stayed pretty much around the 60Mb speed. I had a go on the xBox and was blown away with the speed. Matchmaking in Modern Warfare usually takes its time searching for the best game but I was in a game in seconds! I also tried a few torrents in the evening - Virgin do give low priority to torrent packets, but honestly, I didn't notice, everything was flying down.

Moving on to the TiVo - it's the geekest PVR ever! It's a clever little box that does a helluva lot. It learns the sorts of programs you like and will recommend or even record them for you. I must admit it is very overwhelming coming from a Sky or even an old Virgin PVR, there are a lot of choices and options. That said if you want to go into the TV Guide and find something, you can, but there is so much more under the surface. The Apps are fantastic. After pointing out the 'iPlayer' app out to G she navigated through it to find CBBC programs and started streaming one - it's so simple!

The V HD Box that's upstairs is a bit more basic (with an annoying bright LED clock on the front), but it's not too bad. Whilst it doesn't have 'Apps' like its TiVo, you can still stream catch up TV pretty quickly.

A few Twitter people asked for a cost comparison over Sky. The way it seems to work is, if you want Sky Sports and Sky Movies, it's probably more cost effective to stick with Sky. I don't have either.

Let's look at the figures.

Sky

TV :

Entertainment Extra HD Pack - £34.75

Extra Subscription - £10.25

Total - £45.00

Phone :

Sky Line Rental - £12.25

Broadband :

Sky Broadband (5meg) - £5.00

Total - £52.25

I was planning on taking the Sky Fibre (40meg) option for my broadband (but it's not available yet!), that would have made my monthly spend £67.25

So in a year, that's £627 per year with Sky with Broadband or £807 per year with Sky Fibre.

Virgin

First off I have earned £142.50 signing up via Quidco - which is pretty awesome. I then opted for one of their new 'Collections'.

I get a similar package to my Sky one, including a second box for the bedroom, BUT 60 Meg Broadband instead of 5, for £45 a month with £13.90 Line Rental, so in total £58.90 per month. They offer the first six months for half price too.

In a year Virgin will cost me £571.80. Which equates to £47.65 a month. Don't forget about the cashback, which takes the annual cost to £429.30 so that's a tiny £35.78 per month! No installation cost either!

If you're after Sky Movies and Sky Sports (In HD) it's another £36.50 per month.

Don't get me wrong, the Sky service is good, but they can't offer fast broadband to me and I'd got so sick and tired of having to go via the 'Executive Office' to resolve every issue. I've only had Virgin for a day and I'm sure they won't be perfect, but I'm better off each month and I've got fucking quick broadband! :)

Sky Broadband Versus Virgin Broadband

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:18:00 +0000

This says it all really..

My Sky connection

My Virgin Connection

So is that 15x faster on the download, and 4x faster on the up? That'll do!

Nearly 700 words about parking cars / Small Baby Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:17:00 +0000

I love looking after G on school days; doing the whole school run thing is great as we get to chat in the car before school have a big hug and kiss at the school gate. Then at the end of the day she comes bounding out all smiles and enthusiasm. Awesome.

The whole thing is let down by trying to leave the premises each day - it's a nightmare! I do have to drive G to school but I wish I didn't. It's a 6 mile round trip and if I wanted to use public transport, it would take around 1.5 hrs in total (three hours doing both beginning and end of the day) so it's not possible. The problem is, a lot of parents drive their kids to school and it causes pandemonium. The school is old - it was where my 80-something Grandma went to as a child so when it was designed, cars weren't an issue! They are now though.

If you want to park for the school, you have four options.

1 - Park on the 'roundabout' outside - It's not an actual roundabout, it's a circular bit of road that is three car widths wide, so you park on the left and right sides and drive around the middle.

2 - Park in the car park off the roundabout - This is a small 25 space car park, it does the job!

3 - Park in the roads / lay-bys outside the school

4 - Park on the housing estate (it's really nice!)

Usually to achieve parking in one, two or three you have to be at school EARLY - four is a last resort really, but fairly easily done if you're running late. Now I'm not sure why, but it would seem most people only want to do one and two which I understand as you're on school property and you've got less distance to walk -it's easier. The thing is, a lot of the parents seem to just get fixated on parking on the school grounds. They'll drive round and round hunting down spaces. This sometimes yealds a result as people do leave, but mostly, they don't.

This creates a rather hellish scenario where people just drive around and around, looking for spaces and as they creep round, they are joined by other seekers of spaces. It's like that old Nokia game 'snake' where the snake gets longer and longer. Instead of thinking 'Oh, I'm too late to get a space, best think about options three or four', a certain sense of madness sets in and they'll park their car wherever the car will fit. It doesn't matter if it's in the way, blocking other cars, blocking the road itself, they'll just dump their car like a Zombie Apocalypse is coming. I saw one car today park across two cars in parking bays, trapping them in. I saw cars blocking the exit from the car park -it's madness! People are so fucking narrow minded and they only think about themselves. Instead of leaving that little bit earlier, or admitting defeat and finding a nearby road, they just fuck it all up for everyone else. Even the yellow zig-zags outside the school aren't sacred, you'll find them chocka with cars too. I long for the day a nice Policeman is outside issuing three points and Fixed Penalty Notices to those who park there!

It took nearly 30 minutes to get out of the school car park tonight, all because these twats had blocked the access and then happily pushed in trying to get out as quickly as possible. Some rancid old cunt who was blocking the road threw her car into the path of mine as I was trying to leave, no indication, no wave of the hand, she just charged out. I must admit the red mist came over when she did that. I wanted to smash every panel of her cunting Corsa and rip off her head. Thankfully a chirpy child and a heavily pregnant wife 'de-misted' me quite quickly, especially G shouting 'WHAT IS SHE DOING?!'

Why do we have to be so selfish to each other? Why can't we think of others and treat others how we expect to be treated? I can't admit to being a saint (not at all) but now I'm older I'm trying to be more reflective and think about other people. It's fucking hard when the world around is trying to climb on top of you!

Baby Update - There is no Baby. Although there have been contractions for most of the day, which annoyingly don't seem to be progressing.

TOP TIP - Stop Royal Mail delivering crap through your door!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:34:00 +0000

The excitement of hearing the letterbox is often short lived by realising that it's just your friendly Postman delivering a whole fucktonne of shitty 'To the Occupier' mail outs through your door.

Did you know you can stop them? You can actually opt out from recieving this pile of junk - and it's really easy too.

You can read all about it here

But in short - all you need to do is send a blank email to optout@royalmail.com and they will send you back a PDF to fill in and sign. You then post it back to a freepost address and in six weeks you'll stop getting the rubbish through for two years. Pretty cool eh?

Quick Baby (or lack of) Update and Virgin Media Pre-Installation

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:20:00 +0000

As I mentioned last night / this morning we had an appointment with the Consultant today - Loz has written a bit on her blog - read that ! :)

Before we left I got a knock on the door, it was a guy from Virgin Media. He explained that he was part of a 'pre-installation' team who check the cable outlets to a property before an install happens. He'd looked at our outlet last week and found it to be tarmacked over and not in very good condition, so he was back to repair it!

He explained that he would need to dig up a bit of pavement, and drill a hole in our wall to feed the cable through. I let them crack on and they were done in under 30 minutes. Brilliant!

He said they did this type of work because the installer wouldn't be able to fix the issues if he found them on the day! What brilliant forward planning! It's good to know that everything is already for the engineer on Thursday, and it should all proceed without a hitch! :)

New Virgin Media outlet on the pavement ready to rock!

Cable ready to go in on Thursday! :)

No news is..

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:47:00 +0000

..frustrating news!

So another day has passed and there is still no sign of Baby Hakes. I'm terrible with being patient - I just don't have the patience for it! :) The big baby is really starting to take it's toll on Loz - moving, not moving, generally 'being' seems to cause pain, and there is very little I can do to help. The best I can offer are some nice words, back rubs and glasses of water. I really don't like seeing anyone upset, let alone my wife, and it really pains me to see her in pain!

Still in 11 or so hours we'll be back at the hospital to see the consultant, I'm hoping we get some answers. Can Loz have the water birth she wants? Do they want to induce her because of the size? Do we just wait and see? Since our last trip to the hospital on Thursday we've been in a state of limbo, not quite knowing what's happening, I do find it very hard to process 'wait and see', I like to know when and where. I didn't have this when G was born, before we got to the real point of 'wait and see' , she was here!

Speaking of G, as of tomorrow, she'll be staying with use for the next few days. I'm very excited about this! It was our weekend without seeing her last weekend, and I really do miss having her around. She's been such a delight at the moment, I am immensely proud of her and the little inner geek she has makes me smile. I imagine we'll have to finish off the Star Wars films, we've done Episodes I-IV, just the last two now! She asked if there was an 'Obi Two'.. she thought he was 'Obi ONE' :)

Having G here will obviously make things interesting if Loz goes into labour, but with the family and child minder on standby, we should be covered!

I must admit I'm not sleeping very well at the moment - I don't think I'm ever switching off - I'm on 'Standby' - half awake expecting Loz to go into labour and me to have to jump into action. I must be getting some 'rest' as I don't feel grouchy or wiped out as I would expect so I can't complain. I must admit one thing I'm looking forward to after little man is born is to hopefully stop hearing the phrase..

'Oh, well you won't be able to do (insert something mildly pleasurable here) when you have a baby'.

I know very well what having a baby is like, yes, you get a bit (lot) less sleep, and going out for the day seems to be like a military operation, but I'll still be me, and Loz will still be Loz, we'll just have a little one together. Babies and children are hard work, but you slot together, you work together, and it will all be okay. Having a baby won't stopped either of us getting pissed as farts and enjoying fun nights out *cough* The Cave *cough* - we'll just need to plan it a little bit more in advance!

Right - I need to get some sleep. If you are interested in the birth of little man, then when it does happen, I'll post the news and some photos on here. This blog pushes to my Facebook and Twitter, albeit not immediately - so just keep an eye out! Also you may notice that the adverts are gone from the blog.. blame Dan and his 'clicky finger' (the ladies love it!). I suppose it does make the place a bit tidier without them, although it does mean I make no money from my endeavours here, never mind - tell your friends to read my incessant, illiterate writings! :)

Okay - I really am going.

Bye!

No.. YOU hang up *click* <brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr>

I don't like this waiting malarkey..

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Last night I really thought Loz started to go into Labour, contractions every 9 minutes.. then - they stopped.

Come on Baby Hakes!

Testing some 'Pure Fresh Tea' from @PureFreshTea

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:36:00 +0000

I love tea. I consume an obscene amount of it every day, probably more than is healthy. I drink 'standard' tea, PG Tips or Tetley normally. I have dabbled with fruit and herbal tea, with little success, it generally smells delicious, but tastes pretty dull, When I saw a tweet a few weeks ago from @PureFreshTea offering bloggers some free samples I leapt at the chance, and last week my little selection pack arrived.

My three free teas!

So during this week I've been trying a different one each day and writing down my thoughts on them.

First up 'Black Lavender'

Black Lavender Tea

'Tian Hu Shan black tea, French lavender leaves and bergamot oil. has a very relaxing effect.'

I must admit to feeling very dubious about a lavender / tea mash up, but really, wow, it works very well. It smells incredible and tastes even better, very 'Earl Grey' but with a pleasant and cheeky twist. Amazing!

Fantastic start!

The next was 'Golden Chamomile'

Golden Chomomile Tea

'No dust here! Just whole PureTea Chamomile, bursting with goodness. Well known for it's calming effect, this is the perfect delicious nightime beverage.'

This was my favourite, it was smooth and creamy and had a slight hint of honey to it, very soothing and warming, great for bedtime too as it's caffeine free! This is the sort of thing I'd like to drink if I had a cold! I want a truck load of this! :)

The last one (sadly!) was 'Natural Mint'

Natural Mint Tea

'Delicious, caffeine free mint tea. A wonderfully light and refreshing mint tea, perfect for any
occasion'

I must admit leaving this one to last as I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as the others. I was suprised though, it was pretty good! It's made from whole peppermint leaves, and that's it! I quite enjoyed it, and am pleased I tried it, it was still my least favourite of these three, but still nice!

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Pure Fresh Tea for sending me these samples! I didn't know what to expect and I was over the moon with them! The tea certainly isn't cheap. You do get what you pay for, it's top quality, organic loose leaf tea, contained in an organza pyramid bag and then individually hand-wrapped in a box to retain freshness. So very much a premium product and more as a treat, than something you knock back all day. I've noticed they sell beautiful gift boxes of various sizes, definitely a worthwhile treat for the tea drinker in your life! :)

Nom, Nom, Nom! Help teh Kippeh!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:36:00 +0000

I posted before about being nominated for the MAD Blog Awards. I've actually been nominated for nearly all of them! Namely -

Blog of the Year
Most Innovative Blog
Most Inspiring MAD Blog
Most Helpful Blogger
Best Pregnancy Blog
Best New MAD Blog
Best Thrifty Blog
Best Fashion Blog (big up the Primark £3 T-Shirts! ;) )
Best Schooldays Blog
Best Small Business Blog
Best Home Blog
Best Baby Blog
Best MAD Food Blog
Best Family Life Blog
Best MAD Family Fun Blog
Best Craft Blog
Best Photography Blog
Best Travel Blog

Wow! Honestly I don't think I do really fit into all of those categories, but I'm really grateful!

It would appear being nominated isn't enough to go forward in these awards, you have to be nominated lots! So if you think my ranty, expletive filled blog is worthy of any of the above, please nominate me - nominations close at 5pm TODAY! :)

Also spare a nom for my lovely friends Emma and Ella they have awesome blogs too!

Oh hai Baby Boy! (No he's not here!)

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:38:00 +0000

Side profile of his head

We had our scan this morning. We were seen by the lovely Emily who did our 21 week scan and she really is lovely, so friendly and patient and has all the time in the world to answer questions. Yay her! She did the measurements twice to confirm little man's size and he is BIG, not off the chart, but fairly high up on it. The measurements place him at 42 weeks! She did lots of other checks and pointed out lots of things. We did ask for her to double check it was a little boy - it is!

Once the scan was over she told us to take the details to the clinic for a midwife to look at, which we did. The midwife had a momentary glance and said 'Yeah, it's fine, you can go..' and we did. I think the realisation that we could have a 44/45 week sized child before there is any intervention is a bit scary for Loz, so she's got in touch with our regular midwife to discuss it all. I really hope he is here sooner rather than later! Loz was woken by some very intense pains early this morning, so who knows?

Still it was fantastic to see little man again. Let's hope our next encounter is soon! :)

We get to see little man tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:05:00 +0000

After our appointment to see the consultant yesterday, we've got a scan tomorrow morning so they can get a better idea of the size of Baby Hakes! Tomorrow Loz will be '38+6', so just 8 days from the due date! It's all very exciting, but whatever happens, it will be nice to see little man, even if it is just via the ultrasound! I think Loz will ask them to have a quick 'look' to double check he's a boy too! We've got so much blue stuff I really hope they didn't get it wrong first time!

Looks like we'll be seeing little man sooner than we thought..

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Well, the appointment with the consultant was fun!

To start with it took us 20 minutes to find a parking space, we drove around Broomfield Hospital over and over in what can only be described as a 'Concrete Merry-Go-Round from Hell'. When they rebuilt it, they really should have allowed for more parking spaces. Thankfully we finally managed to get one, and some nice people gave us their parking ticket with several hours left on it. Hooray!

We made our way up to the department we needed and waited. It was actually 45 minutes later that we saw someone, a very nice trainee who did all the checks and read through Loz's 'Blue Book' to get a full idea of what was happening. Then he did the measuring of the bump.. The bump measured 43cm - the bump size is normally equal to the number of weeks you are (+/- 2cm), with Loz at 38 weeks, this was a bit on the large size. He left the midwife to do the blood pressure and went to speak to the senior consultant and show her Loz's records. The senior consultant came back and measured Loz and found it to measure 43cm too!

She told us that she wanted Loz to have a scan as soon as possible to check his size properly, if he is too big we need to discuss 'birthing options'. All the appointment slots for scans were taken today, but we should get in tomorrow or Thursday, either way, it'll be nice to see our son again! We've got an appointment to see the consultant next week too, but have been told to go back after we've had the scan so they can check it over!

For what has been a fairly 'non-eventful' pregnancy it's all got a bit more exciting!

Less than two weeks - hopefully!

noreply@blogger.com (Kip Hakes) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:50:00 +0000

This is my latest post for the Emma's Diary Blog.

Today is officially 38+3 and so in theory by the time I'm due to blog again, our little family should have increased in size. Apparently first born children are often late but I've got my fingers crossed little man won't be!

Getting to the end of the pregnancy is certainly the hardest part for Loz, but little man is behaving as he should be and increasing in size as one would hope. The midwife is saying he'll be high 7lb to mid 8lb baby; I certainly don't envy Loz and her expanding tummy! She is coping brilliantly though and despite these past few weeks being a massive struggle she has coped admirably. As I blogged before, she is working right up to and after birth and despite frequent toilet breaks, she's still soldiering on. She is incredible - these northern girls are made of strong stuff! :)

We had our antenatal class a few weeks ago and that went pretty well. We made friends with some of the other expectant parents, keeping in touch via Facebook, and it was nice to get a general 'refresher' on the labour process. I certainly feel more prepared than I did a few weeks ago and hopefully I can be a competent 'birthing partner'.

Team Mosster!

As I've mentioned before we don't have a 'Birthing Plan' as such, aside from 'get the baby out as effectively and safely as possible, listening to the advice of the midwives and doctors'. Although from day one Loz has had her heart set on using the birthing pool and the midwife is a big fan of it. There is one slight stumbling block which is a 'BMI limit' for those wanting to use the pool. With little man's healthy weight gain and Loz being slightly overweight when we found out she was pregnant, Loz has now crept over this limit. (I'd like to point out that Loz has said it's ok to divulge this information!) Thankfully the midwife is happy for Loz to have the birthing pool (if it's available at the time), but we do have to see the consultant to get the thumbs up as well. We're hoping, as the rest of the pregnancy has been pretty text book, all will be okay - we get the verdict tomorrow.

With 'the end' drawing near, we've both been looking for signs of impending labour... ok, possibly me more than Loz! I've installed a 'Contraction Timer' App on her phone with a little homescreen widget for her to press when they come and go. I will freely admit to now being a bit jumpy about the whole situation. I'm eager; perhaps too eager. Loz has told me she'll 'know' when it's happening for real, but even so, I can't help but spring into action at the slightest twinge. I'm aware this is probably quite annoying for Loz, so do my best not to get too excited, but I honestly can't help it!

In the last week or so the Braxton Hicks have started to appear and the baby has dropped too! The bump is definitely sitting lower and Loz isn't as breathless after climbing the stairs. The baby dropping does seem to have increased the pain in Loz's hips and a very strange side effect of restricted movement in her left leg. If she lifts it too much she gets a terrible pain. This has made getting in and out of the car/bed very difficult and it's horrible to watch a loved one in so much pain.

I think we're both just very keen to meet our son. We're in a real limbo at the moment; we cant really do much or go anywhere too far away, 'just in case'. It will be nice to get back into a more 'normal' life once he arrives - well, as normal as life with a newborn is! More than that, it will be great to see the little life we've created and settle into life as slightly bigger family.

Loz has her own blog too - here.