Jubilant July.

So it is August now, and boy does time fly by, therefore the only natural thing to do is talk about how I spent my July. Which was primarily with a baby, but there's a few other fun things around that.

To start the month I was waiting around the flat for the midwife to come check Nora over, they were very happy, and discharged us. Which was a relief to know I was doing something right. In the afternoon we ventured out to a place in the city called Revolution Portraits to see which picture of Nora from her photo-shoot I wanted to keep. I was very worried entering the building that I would be very tempted to get all of them, but I could not justify that £200 purchase. Luckily for me there was one stand out adorable photo, so I chose that one and then returned home to spend my evening in the usual way. Caring for Nora, and hanging out with Dean. On the 2nd it was finally time to register Nora's birth, where mum and dad took us out to

Earlham Library which was a pretty cute little library, and we met a very nice lady who made the birth certificate. It makes everything that little more real to see my name under the mother section of a birth certificate. And to see a name I have chosen as her official name. Nora Allyce Rose looks very pretty on a birth certificate. After this I was then treated to a meal at the pub across the road, and Nora had a nice time interacting with her Nanny and this little elephant toy she has. The next day was pretty chilled, before meeting Hariette in the afternoon for some food at Ed's diner, which was upsetting because they have changed their menu to remove the only Veggie Burger I would eat :'( and  then we did some shopping.

The Thursday was a pretty chilled day, and then in the evening  I went to go see Maddy at the Cathedral Gardens, as it had been forever since I saw her. We had a bit of a rough patch after Nora was born, but do not fear as we are good now! Nothing can break up the dynamic duo of Maddy and Elli. So it was lovely seeing her, and she had her first proper hold of Nora which she really liked. The next day my Nannie came to visit, dropping of the baby sling she got for me, it took a while for us to figure out how to use it. And then we drove out to introduce Nora to my Granddad. He was very pleased to see her, even though for some reason he kept

thinking her name was Arina. But when one of his workers came in he was very proudly showing off his Great-Granddaughter, saying her name correctly this time. And when we got back to the flat the rest of the family were waiting for us, Nora had some lovely sleepy cuddles with her auntie, and I had a good catch up with mum. The only thing is I do have to watch them all argue about who gets to have the first cuddle with Nora. Then that weekend was pretty chilled hanging out with Dean, I think we ventured into the city with the intention of shopping, but only really achieved a food shop. But food is very important. Then on Sunday evening Maddy came to see us, and was very happy she managed to very briefly get Nora off to sleep. When Nora was more awake later we then began singing ABBA, to which Nora definitely moved her hand to Dancing Queen, and it was in no way a coincidence.

The next couple of days were a little stressful as Nora had colic which meant she both wanted to feed but didn't want to feed, and this confusion made it so she didn't sleep either. Tuesday morning I took her to the walk in centre as she wasn't quite registered with her doctor yet, and they checked her over, because I felt she was getting worse despite me using infacol, luckily they said she was fine other than the colic, so I should just wind her for longer to ensure the gases aren't as trapped. That afternoon of the 9th Hariette came for a sleepover! Bringing a delightful Nandos with her. I say delightful I was disappointed that my chips were cold, but I guess with takeaway food there is always that risk. She claimed she came over to help with Nora, which in some way she did as she would help cuddle her to sleep. But when it came to Nora waking in the middle of the night Hariette just slept through it, until right near the end where she held Nora's hand and then proceeded to fall back asleep. In the morning my dad came to see us all and managed to get Nora to suck just her thumb for the first time, which was adorable. They both decided to the head into the city, and I had a relatively good afternoon. Dad returned the next day with mum for yet more cuddles and chatter. It's nice to have them help because I try and get some more sleep, and know that if she

gets upset they can comfort her a little. However, when I can hear her cry I wake up, so it's not the most solid plan. Friday 12th Dean took a day off work to see me, and we decided to try and venture into the city again, again not much really got done, but it's a nice walk around for Nora, and me and Dean get to spend time together. On our travels we ran into Amy on her lunch break, which was really nice as I hadn't seen her since the day after Nora was born. It was a good little catch up and we made plans to try and get the group together. After that we headed over to Revolution portraits to collect my mini canvas! And oh my good she's just so precious.

The next day Dean and I went to go and sort me having an implant put in, because you know I'm not looking for another Nora anytime soon. It was a little scary to be there, but the woman we spoke to was super nice, and made me feel better about it. After we tackled that Dean decided to drive us out to Hemsby, because I honestly think he is addicted to Bingo. To be fair we have collected a decent amount of wins between the two of us since we started coming. And Nora had a slightly better time, she's still not loving the beach scene, but I think with more exposure she'll get there. When we got home, Emily came to visit us, which was a really weird catch up as I haven't really properly spoken to Emily since fireworks night. Yeah that's right. And back then most of the group didn't even know I was pregnant, so here she was meeting my baby. She very kindly got Nora a £20 Disney gift card, and we all know how cute baby Disney stuff is. WOO. Sunday was what I liked to call a lazy day, and then again in the evening Maddy came to visit, and we all had a good chat, and reminisced about nostalgic songs. This was mainly because Nora likes it when Maddy bounces her around, so I was encouraging the music by playing top tunes such as Vengaboys. Some

of those music videos though were pretty disturbing. On Monday I went to go and have the implant put in, so I made the plan of Mum will come and hold my hand, because needles and me are still not friends, despite how many times we came into contact during my pregnancy, and my dad was left at the flat with Nora (for context I literally live on the road where the clinic is, you step out my front door and you can see it). The procedure itself was nothing like I thought, and was over so quickly so I'm glad I braved it. Plus it means that I don't have to worry about remembering to take the pill everyday whilst caring for an infant. After this bravery of mine, mum treated us to a Zak's meal. It was a nice meal as they've introduced Potato Tots!!! I also got some nice photos of Nora in the outside bit with my dad.

On the Tuesday it was a pretty chilled day, I had Maddy come see us on her lunch break for a good chat, and then the afternoon Hariette came round to visit and we tried out Nora's play mat for the first time. She wasn't overly impressed. I made a second attempt the next morning and she seemed to enjoy it a lot more. Then Mum said about us going out for a meal, so I walked Nora down to Riverside and I got to have a lovely Chiquitos. We sat by the window so we could see the river and there was this guy painting, which made me kind of want to paint again. Then we did what we usually do and head over to spoons to enjoy the weather and chat.Following day was a little stressful as I did not feel well, and Nora was refusing to sleep and was very distressed. Luckily I had the support of my parents who came round to help. It was a very long day for me though. I was able to vent my feelings a little the next day as I had my perinatal mental health nurse come to visit, and she was talking about how I've made good improvements so if I was happy they would discharge me in September. Which helped make me feel like I was doing something right. And in the afternoon I met with Hariette in the city after work, going for some food and printing off some pictures of Nora for a scrapbook I was making as a gift for my mum. Saturday was just usual weekend with Dean, and then on Sunday he took us to Hemsby again, and this time my family met us there as well for yet more arcade bingo fun. I used the 22nd as a chilled day in with Nora, as we don't tend to have many of those, and it was a good thing I did because the next day was bizzay. And yes I wrote it like that so you can read it like that for emphasis. It was my mum's birthday so I got Nora ready and we walked down to Riverside to meet the parents at Frankie and Benny's, here we had an amazing deal of 3 pasta meals, and a pizza for £25!!! It was delicious, and Nora was pretty well behaved. My mum really liked the scrapbook I made. It wasn't completely finished, because I have more plans for it, so it will be a work in progress. But it was a nice start. After this we again went for a drink outside spoons, when Maddy messaged  about the exam she had that day so I thought I should go and see her for a bit. I met her at the other local spoons to me.
And funny story when I was with my parents there was this loud obnoxious group of people who eventually left, but turns out they just went to the spoons Maddy was at. So I ran into them twice. More than I ever wanted to run into them. Maddy and I then walked around, going to the food court to chat, and buying stuff in new look. We then decided that we wanted to go bowling, and invited Tom and Dean, but Tom didn't want to, or was busy, or something. But Dean Maddy and I had a pretty good time, even though Nora was starting to get a bit grumpy. We then went to Pizza Hut for some food!

This week continued to be super hot, which Nora was not a fan of, but I think as the days went on I almost mastered how to cheer her up, well keep content. And luckily she was content as I took her to MAP on the Wednesday so I could talk to the young parent support team. It was a really nice chat that made me feel a little more reassured, and I got to experience what their baby group was like. I think I would take Nora, but she needs to be a little older to fully appreciate it. On Thursday mum and dad came round yet again for a visit, trying to get Nora outside in the shade. I then thought to take her on a walk in the city that afternoon because some places are nice and cool, and I thought that might help her sleep a little better. On Friday I met Hariette up the city for some ice cream, which was very nice considering the weather, we then had a little shop around the city. Saturday Nora spent some time with her dad, so I was able to go and experience Pride. I decided to put on my wig and gold top hat, because when else am I really going to wear those objects, and headed out to the city with Dean. We stopped by the Number 33 cafe to stalk Tom and

Maddy, before going to see what was happening at the Forum and Chapelfield Gardens. I think more of the interesting stuff was meant to happen later in the day to be fair, but it was still nice. We had a better time when Maddy and Tom finally joined us. However they struggled to locate us. We saw some amazing things whilst out, like flamboyant Deadpool, and the last gay Dinosaur. I then had to be back for Nora's feed, and once back I just didn't want to go out again, so Dean and I stayed in and ordered Dominos!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 28th was most definitely a lazy day, and we practically stayed in bed the whole time. But I got to experience Nora's first proper smile. It was so cute! And it made me feel more like a mother to her, than just some kind of food and rocking machine. She has been smiling and making happy responsive noises a lot more since then, which helps make those days where it's just me and her that little more interesting. Mum and Hariette came for a quick visit on Monday, as I was having a little stressful day, so it was nice to be able to chat to them about it all. Tuesday was a much better day as I had my first flat viewing for a potential home for Nora and myself. She stayed in the car with mum, whilst Dad and I nosed around the flat. Which was huge! There was so much storage space, and the kitchen was a decent size. Only issues was that the parking situation was not great, and there was no bath or much of a garden. Which when a small child is involved, but it was a good experience at least. After this I also had a visit from the health visitor who said that Nora was doing well, and she was also able to give me some good advice on how to deal with certain difficulties I'm having, then the rest of the day was pretty chilled out. On the 31st

the final day of the month, I decided it was time Nora met my other baby, Sebbles. So we also braved our first bus trip to Horsford, where she fell asleep. Seb was very interested in seeing Nora and was trying to climb on her to sit, which she strangely didn't mind, when he settled next to her, she was busy exploring his fur, she then had a sleep on her Auntie. That evening once back at the flat, Nora and I had a visit from Scott, which was a really good catch up as I don't think I've really seen him since my Birthday.

So it was a pretty good month when I try to erase the shit parts from my mind. But I guess it can't all be sunshine and roses. It just makes me more determined in a way to make good memories with those I care about. Sorry if this post doesn't make any sense at points, but I'm a lot more distracted nowadays so I just do bits here and there so kind of lose the flow. Anyway, see you when I see you!