Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

I started writing a blog out of an interest in writing and technology, which over the past nine years has helped document events in mine and my family’s life. It has helped me come to terms with becoming a dad, a husband and document things that have happened, my role in them and its helped me learn more about myself as a man as well as a father. Except I’ve let life take over for a bit, more living, less writing, which is why there is a bit of a gap - a nine month long one. After all, it isn’t like I’ve not had anything to write about, in fact I could easily have filled the pages of this blog with news on a daily basis, but if I had to write one post about the past nine months it would be summed up with the title of “Eat, Work, Sleep, Repeat”, all the rest is merely a collection of sub-plots, namely: - Phoebe’s Little Sister Dreams - Oliver's Footballing Ambitions - Stephanie’s Birthing Nightmare Which brings me nicely up date. When we found out that we were expecting ...

When Stephanie and I discussed children, our magic number was always and never any more than two. We were blessed with a beautiful blue one, and a pink one completed the set. Our lives were happy and content, until a recent late night bum squeeze under the covers turned into something a little more energetic, which is where we find ourselves once again... at the beginning of another nine month long adventure. Oliver had a code name, “Baby Bird”, Phoebe was imaginatively labelled “Baby Bird 2”. Our as yet unborn third child has been given, the (perhaps unfair) moniker of “Oops”. Which, in the event that he/she reads this in the forthcoming years is a term of endearment (we promise), but we won’t hide behind the fact that when we do eventually meet he or she, it will be behind the eyes of a blessing that we never expected. Inevitably, I guess, when something happens that catches you by surprise is a sense of denial and perhaps a sense of regret that we’d done things differently, no...

The human body is an amazing machine, the mechanics of thought, the intricacies and subtle nuances of the mind which stand us out as individuals as well as our own bodies carved out to provide us with our own identities aren’t things we consider on a routine basis. But last week, I witnessed my wife bring my daughter into the world and once again, reaffirmed for me just how blessed and precious life really is. Phoebe Anne Bird was born on Wednesday 9th of November 2011 after a short, sharp labour that was in stark contrast to her older brother who took twenty-nine hours to reach us back in 2006. I only had Oliver’s birth as a guide to the whole process and as detailed here , it wasn’t an experience that I particularly enjoyed, purely for the duration and the feeling as a husband of being very much a spare part. An awful lot has changed in the five years that Oliver was born and I am sorry to say, not for the better. With local hospitals closing and birthing policies amended our s...

As the months roll by and we head into October, we become ever closer to finally meeting Baby Bird II, who has slowly been growing within the confines of Stephanie’s womb and will make an appearance when he or she deems themselves to be perfectly ready - in or around their due date of November 3rd. As pregnancies go, we have been fortunate with this one, no precautionary overnight stops at the hospital or worries about minor things that first time around seem like major obstacles. It is generally perceived that the second pregnancy is easier for parents to cope with and fortunately, so far that seems to be the case. If anything, the only real worry that Stephanie has faced, has been having to cope with the baby’s sporting process. It’s a bit of a footballer apparently with Stephanie’s inside being kicked, booted, twisted and pulled on a regular basis, which anyone who knows and has seen this in action will testify to being quite a sight! We have also spent the past eight months o...

Generally speaking Stephanie and I don’t have wonderfully exciting lives. We go to work, come home, have dinner and veg out on the sofa, watch a film together or maybe I’ll retire to the other room and spend an unhealthy amount of time on the Interwebs, writing another incessant rambling piece which passes as my blog whilst Stephanie watches a gruesome documentary about murder and it’s ensuing investigation. It has then, for the past week been something of a nice change to the usual routine with some days out, new experiences and the pleasurable involvement of somebody elses very special day. Last weekend, Friday, it all kicked off with the archibald ingall stretton... away day. The first Friday of July is declared an official work bank holiday, in that the whole agency disappear somewhere together and come back the following day feeling rather worse for wear. More specifically, a rather beautiful house in the rolling hills of the Oxfordshire Cotsworlds, near the market town of Bi...

Last night just as Stephanie and I were starting to fall asleep, she nudged me to say that the baby had woken up,“How do you know?” I asked. She then began to tell me about the strange feelings and sensations that she was currently experiencing in the darkness of our bedroom. These internal nudges and movements, constant reminders of the miracle growing inside, the beginning of the maternal bond between mother and child. You can see that Stephanie is pregnant at the moment, in fact, it surprised me just how much when she informed me last week that we’d reached the half way stage! Whilst she is having that physical bond with her child, I won’t be able to feel any movement for a few more weeks, until the bump has filled out and physically witness the baby starting to kick. I am however, not entirely useless at this stage. For the past few weeks we have been getting some of the house in order, particularly the nursery where the baby will sleep when he or she is a little older. Wh...

For the past thirteen weeks, Stephanie and I have been harbouring good news. I’m proud to finally announce that Stephanie is pregnant again and that come November, we’ll hopefully be celebrating the safe arrival of a long awaited brother or sister for Oliver. As much as you try planning life’s big events, moving out, getting married, having children they do inevitably get mixed up with circumstances, uncertainties and the perennial question of “am I doing the right thing?” Making the decision to finally have a child with Stephanie after so long in courtship set off a huge chain of events that tied us to one another for the rest of our lives. This time around the decision to have another child came with a sense of freedom and an acceptance that what we was about to set off on was another journey of excitement and trepidation. Having a child the first time around, everything is new, every day brings something different, whether it be Stephanie’s body changing in response to nature’...

When we were growing up, I doubt very much whether Mum and Dad ever imagined a scenario whereby they would have five grand-children with the possibility of more on the way. On Friday, with the birth of Elijah, Jessica's fourth and probably final child that scenario became a reality. Stephanie and I are really happy for both Jessica and James, and indeed the girls too for finally having the boy that they both craved. Thinking from a personal point of view, I am particularly glad as it means Oliver will grow up with some male company on the Bird side of the family, and takes off some of the pressure on Stephanie and I when we get around to Baby Bird MrkII . If Jessica had another girl, and Baby Bird MrkII was also a female, poor Oliver would be surrounded by women and be bossed around incessantly, eventually driving him loopy. As it is, Oliver will have Elijah to play football with and climb trees etc, allowing Stephanie and I to pray for a girl, giving us the "perfect" ...

I wrote just before I came back to work about how we needed to find a sense of normality and readjust to having a baby in our lives The transition has been quite straightforward really, after the first day back it felt like I had not been away! Now four weeks later Christmas and the birth is but a distant memory. It is amazing how time passes and how we remember things. The birth was an amazing experience and Steph suffered hugely, but if you ask her she won't remember the pain of the birth at all, although the sewing up after still sends a shiver down her spine. Being at work, getting home at eight o'clock and sometimes later has not been ideal, but we don't live in an ideal world. Seeing Oliver at night and first thing in the morning is better than not seeing him at all. Working is the one thing that I need to do in order to feed and dress him each day. A little sacrifice is not a problem as far as I am concerned. Every second we spend with him has been amazing. It is inc...

Having been off work now since December 18th, tomorrow brings the first step of creating a new normality for us when I go back to work The past three weeks have gone in a blink of an eye, and it is going to be strange tomorrow not seeing Oliver or Steph all day! In Steph's case she probably cannot wait to get rid of me! In pre baby times a normal week would be Steph and I at work during the week, in which she would have one day off, I would be home between 7.30 and 9.30 depending on how busy my day has been, or if I have popped downstairs for a quick beer before home! An average weekend would see Steph at work on Saturday whilst I went to football and Sundays we spent the day together doing household chores, shopping, or if we were particularly lazy nothing at all. Since Oliver arrived and I have been home we have been all over the place in terms of our sleep, our day to day roles and our meal times. There is no going back to the pre Oliver routine, so we can only find a new one! T...

I wasn't really going to write this blog at one stage because I didn't really want to tempt fate, afterall if this year has been so great, who is to say that by celebrating it next year is going to go the other way. But I figured each year brings different things and hopefully next year I will be able to write about how well 2007 has gone too. Even if it does bring the unexpected. But for Steph and I the year 2006 felt like our year. I got the new job which I had craved for so long, which has since gone like a dream for me. I have really settled in, learnt a huge amount from some talented, intelligent people and earnt a reputation based on hard work and a willingness to help out whenever possible. Steph, whose broodiness was exposed the day Jessica announced her third pregnancy managed to fulfil her dreams by getting pregnant herself and spent the year nuturing an eventual baby boy, culminating in Oliver's birth on the 21st of December. A big highlight's for both of us...

Caution: This blog entry may contain sentences of a sentimental nature. I am sat here now writing this after what has been the longest, most emotional and most rewarding few days of my life. We were due for inducement at Darent Valley hospital on Wednesday evening at 6:00pm, so I had planned my leave off work to start on the Wednesday and to use the day to do some shopping for Christmas and some pre labour relaxation. However, over the weekend and on the Monday morning Stephanie had been feeling sporadic contractions, so I decided to bring my leave a day earlier in case she went into labour and I was able to assist her in getting into hospital ASAP. Despite my initial concerns Tuesday went without incident and I was able to get a few things out of the way paving way for a relaxing Wednesday before going in to get things kick started. Baby Bird had other plans. I was woken up in the early hours of Wednesday morning by the bedside light being switched on and in my half asleep state I cou...

This is by far the saddest thing I have ever done! At 12:40am nearly 24 hours after arriving at the delivery suite I am here typing this! Still no Baby Bird, but a day of emotion and high drama! Full report to come just as soon as Baby Bird hatches! Over and out!

Remember that TV ad which showed a guy growing up as music played in the background showcasing the "soundtrack to his life"? Well someone has got the Jukebox spot on with Take That sitting at the top of the singles chart with a song called "Patience", totally apt considering mine and Steph's current situation! If I was a betting man I would have put money on Baby Bird coming early, as witnessed by my bold proclamations earlier on in the pregnancy. However, so far, so not a lot! We await Wednesday now with the unimaginable thoughts of inducement now a realistic certainty. The doctors make the appointment for you as you approach your due date on the basis of accounting for all possibilities. Steph at the time said something along the lines of "as if I will need to be induced!". Although we are currently frustrated with the waiting, it has been fun. Going to work each day and people asking me "what am I still doing here", and comments sugg...

Nine months into a trouble free pregnancy we finally hit the skids at the business end of the gestation period. Not only are we a day late, Steph is really struggling with a sore throat and cold. I am really hoping that the baby holds on for a little longer, just so Steph can get over the worst of it and enjoy the first hours of motherhood without worrying about dripping snot on the baby or coughing all over the poor thing! It's been a pretty mad few days at work with some long hours thrown in to meet deadlines ( Britain's Best Driver ) etc, so I haven't really had a chance to sit and think about the imminent arrival of Baby Bird. I know Steph sitting at home has been frustrated, but with the cold and feeling rough has only added to her worries. Dad went back to Iran this morning, so I am pretty gutted that he may have to wait six weeks before he gets a chance to meet his fourth grandchild. But he told me this morning that he may in fact be back sooner than expected! We hav...

I am sure that the pregnancy advice books write pages and pages about what parents to be ought to be doing a week before the baby is born. I am sure that they prescribe rest, to take things easy, but Steph and I yesterday took the advice a little too literally! We did... nothing! Steph woke up at ten and was watching birth tv as per usual, whilst I did some updates for Uncle Matthew on kings-medway.co.uk . Once I had finished that I suggested we watch the last two episodes of 24 (We have been catching up on series four, so we are all up to speed again ready for series five which we brought on DVD last month). So by the time we had watched those, it was not much point in getting ready to go out anywhere, as we didn't really have anywhere to go, and we had spent so long on the sofa that our bodies had been moulded to it! We started to watch the beginning of 24 series 5, and before we knew it we had watched the whole of the first dvd (four hours)! At this point it was time for X-Fa...

As we enter our eight month of pregnancy Steph and I are all ready and waiting! The nursery is ready (albeit awaiting some blinds - which are on order), we have a baby bath - with a floating duck themometer, we have stacked up on baby shampoo, talcum powder, nappies and all sorts of potions that I don't have a clue what are used for! The only thing we need now is a baby! In footballing terms, we are entering what Alex Ferguson referred to as "Squeeky Bum Time", that period at the end of the footballing season whereby each game played determines whether or not your team is going to come out on top, win the championship or get pipped at the post. For ninety minutes as a supporter you are sat at the edge of your seat willing your team on. Steph and I are at the stage now, we have gone nearly to the end of the season, in a position of strength in a flaw free nine months, and we are waiting nervously for the final whistle! More seriously thought, we are both starting to get ...

Last night I got a call from Steph's mum "Adam, it's Pat, Stephanie is here crying that her stomach hurts, so I am going to the hospital so they can reassure her". At which point I thought "OK, no worries, probably something over nothing, go see the doctor and he will tell her everything is fine". Which, as it transpired, is exactly what happened. I received the call at work, just as I was leaving, so I had to endure a half hour walk to Charing Cross, plus an hour train journey to Dartford, in which the only company I had was my imagination. By the time I had got to Dartford, and flagged a taxi down to take me to Darent Hospital I was full of worse case scenario's and panic! After I had been briefed by the doctors, Steph and her mum, it became clear to me that the baby was absolutely fine and the problem lay in Steph's "water", which showed signs of an infection - as a precaution they would be keeping her in overnight. Both of us endured s...

Last night, Steph and I were sitting vegged out on the sofa, as we normally are during the week! I was telling her about a song I had downloaded on my Ipod and asked her to listen to it! As she was sitting listening to the music she felt Baby Bird starting to fidget! I was in the kitchen at the time, making sandwiches for work today, but when I came back she asked me to sit and watch! She started to listen to One by U2, and it was at this point that the baby really started to move! I was watching the ipod balancing on Steph's bump moving up and down - something that was quite freaky as well as exciting! I decided at this point to conduct an experiment. Could we determine the babies sex depending on the response to music Steph played on the ipod? I asked her to play a Spice Girls track (this is only on my ipod because I copied an old dance album and somehow have not got around to deleting it!), just to see what the reaction was. As it was playing the kicking and movement abated, and...

Steph and I are now well into our final trimester of her pregnancy, and things are really starting to build up momentum. On Saturday we are flying out to Fuerteventura , which I have been holding as some kind of benchmark as to where we are within the pregnancy cycle. When we come back it will be the final countdown to welcoming Baby Bird™ into the world! As we look forward to a week in the sun, things back at home are changing rapidly. The nursery is starting to take shape with all new furniture and furnishings for the baby. Mum and dad very kindly brought the baby some new wheels in which the baby can travel in style and comfort - thank you Nanny and Bampy! Also, lots of little bits and pieces have started to litter the kitchen and elsewhere around the flat. The week away comes highly recommended in a lot of the pregnancy books I have read (well one!), not only because it is possibly the last chance you will get away with peace and quiet for 18 years, but will be a chance for Steph a...