Difficult starts - a bit long and detailed

Part of what made me the parent I am is the challenging start in life both of my children had.
At my 12 week scan with Mini Me we were told that we were high risk for Downs Syndrome, our odds were 1:69 which for my age, (27 at the time,) was VERY high. So we had to wait 5 weeks until we could have an amniocentisis and then a further week for the results. We got the all clear but it was 6 of the most stressful weeks I ever had! On top of all that I has sickness up to around 22 weeks of the pregnancy with low blood pressure - I once fainted in Woolworths. After 22 weeks my blood pressure went the other way and I puffed up like Michelin Man. By 34 weeks I was measuring 40 weeks and couldn't fit behind the wheel of my car any more. At 38 weeks my waters broke and labour progressed really quickly, after 4 hours I was 9cm, but after 12 hours I was still at 9cm. As this is meant to be the short version I will skip to 18 hours of labour when I ended up in theatre having an emergency c-section. Following this less than perfect pregnancy things started well, until MM was really slow to gain weight. At 11 weeks old she fell off the bottom of the weight charts and we were refered to the hospital where eventually she was diagnosed with laringomalacia, a floppy larynx, and we had to top up my milk with formula. (Which I hated having to do.) By 6 months she had given up me and only wanted bottles.

So when it came to my 12 weeks scan with Monkey Boy and we were once again told we were high risk for Downs Syndrome, 1:75 this time, at least we were prepared for what was to come. Once again we had an all clear result and breathed a sigh of relief. I had the sickness again until around 20 weeks but was used to it by then so just got on with things. When it came time for our 20 week scan we happily skipped along expecting the wonderful experience we had had with MM, we even took MIL with us to share. So when the sonographer told us our son had bilateral talipes, club feet, it came as another blow. We read up as much as we could and prepared ourselves for the treatment he would have to have. Once again I was huge and at 38 weeks labour began. It was completly the opposite of the labour with MM. Contractions were random and kept stopping and starting for the first 6 hours when they eventually became regular and we headed for hospital. I desperatly wanted a VBAC with no pain relief and was prepared to fight for this. So after 24 hours when I was still only 3-4cm I begged for some pain relief just so I could get some sleep! To skip to the end again MB was born after 36 hours of labour with an epidural at 35 hours and forceps assisted - but I got my VBAC! My plan was to go home as soon as possible so I reluctantly agreed to stay one night to 'get some rest.' Within 24 hours MB was on antibiotics and under a UV lamp. We ended up staying in for 5 nights. What followed was really tough. At 2 weeks old we took MB to Southampton for his first treatment, plaster casts from toes to thighs. He had another set the following week and a 3rd set a week after that. At 5 weeks old he had surgery with a further 3 weeks of casts before going into a foot brace 23 hours a day for 11 weeks. (A pair of lace up boots screwed to a metal bar, hip width apart at 70 degree angle.) MB still wears the brace now, only at night, an will until he is 4-5 years old. As if all of this wasn't enough we also found out he had a tounge tie at 10 weeks old, which had given us a tough feeding start. He had that snipped at 11 weeks and we didn't look back. (MB has never had formula milk and is still breastfeeding now at 18 months old)

Needless to say whenever I mention I would like another baby my Mother and Husband both look at me like I am mad. (I haven't given up hope though.)

I am not a natural writer!

Here goes! I am not a natural writer but I am going to try to keep up this blog and share my life and experiences with you all.
I am a stay at home mum to a 3 year old daughter, Mini Me, (because she is like a clone of me in every way,) and an 18 month old son, Monkey Boy, (because he monkeys around, climbs everything, and can often be found clinging to my back.) I am also wife to a workaholic husband, who I met through work 7 years ago and married nearly 4 years ago. We live in a granny annex at my parents house so that I don't have to work and can concentrate on raising the kids.
I believe that as parents we need to adopt a back to basics approach to life - whenever I question a choice I need to make when it comes to the kids I ask myself what would a cavewoman do? What is the natural way, the human way, to deal with this? As a result of this in our house we breastfeed, use cloth nappies, co-sleep, do baby led weaning and, my favorite, babywear. (I am a slingaholic.) Don't get me wrong - I am not anti-technology, or against modernisation - I just like to use the most natural approach when it comes to my kids. (For example - the cloth nappies we use are nice fluffy easy snap in funky coloured ones, not terry squares!) We believe in our children learning from the world around them and truly experiencing life. We don't leave our kids to cry. We eat together as a family. We limit tv watching. We play with our children.
People whose writing has inspired my parenting choices include:
Dr Sears, Attachment Parenting
Gill Rapely, Baby Led Weaning
Sue Palmer, Toxic Childhood
So let me know if you feel the same, let's be 'Natural Parents' together!