I am sure I’m not the only one wondering where this year has gone. I can’t believe that we are almost half way through 2014!

Where has the time gone?

(Please don’t tell anyone I just said that. Do you ever hear a kid in school saying that? Absolutely not. It is definitely one of the signs of getting older).

2014 has seen things change dramatically in the Bolton household – Jude retired from the Sydney Swans and is transitioning into post footy life, we are seconds away from starting major house renovations, Siarra turned 2 (definitely nothing like her first birthday party! I think I am still recovering from that first one), I have been a slave to work and somewhere in there Jude and I found ourselves in the same state and the same room long enough to now be having another little bubba.

This September we will be welcoming another little Bolton into the world. We decided to find out the sex this time – something that we didn’t do with Siarra. I wanted to for logistical reasons; do we keep Siarra’s pink clothes or do we start again with round ‘blue?’

Jude wasn’t fussed either way but when I promised him a reveal cake he was happy to go along with it!

For anyone not as mad about making an event out of everything as I am, a reveal cake is a cake that is cut open to reveal either blue or pink in the middle – hence announcing the impending arrival of either a little boy or girl.

Somewhat sheepishly we handed over the piece of paper to our local baker explaining the idea. I quizzed him on the level of crazy he thought we were for playing this game to which he honestly replied ‘This isn’t the first time I have been asked to make one of these cakes. But you are definitely the craziest as you are first person to hand over the piece of paper without knowing yourself’ Ha! Turns out most couples use this as a way to inform their family and friends – not themselves. Oh well…

I have attached a photo of the cake – I would love to know your guess. Pink or blue smarties?

Being pregnant again is encouraging me to relive my first pregnancy – both the highs and lows. I actually have no idea whether I feel the same this pregnancy or not. Apparently this means I feel the same otherwise I would know? I have escaped feeling too nauseous for which I am extremely grateful. I definitely feel more tired than I remember being last time but this might have something to do with chasing around a 2 year old (of course). I am doing my best to keep up my exercise and eat as healthily as I can (about 75% of the time ha). I have to admit that most of the time I don’t really feel too pregnant – until of course I try to get some sleep or need to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes argh!

I admit I am a little nervous about the upcoming months. With Siarra I was diagnosed with pre-clampsia and blew up like a balloon. I was admitted to hospital every second day three weeks prior to her due date for monitoring and was finally induced 10 days prior to her official due date. She was not ready to come out let me tell you and it was a long, 2 day process.

Post birth was also quite stressful as she refused to feed and lost more than the recommended 10% birth weight. I continued to swell and my blood pressure continued to rise.  Add onto that her complete breast refusal (!) and we were quite a motley crew for the first couple of months… Ok years… Ok we still have no idea what we are doing…..

But isn’t it funny how you forget all these things?

I had literally blocked out all these memories until recently. The brain can do amazing things thankfully. And at the end of the day, despite all the challenges and difficulties getting here, I have a happy healthy 2 year old snuggled under my arm as I write this; so we must be doing a few things right. Bring on bubba number 2 I say!

x LCB

Did you have a special way of revealing the sex of your baby to your family and friends?

What pregnancy and birth memories have stuck with you over time?