Hannah Elizabeth

Following on from my January Round Up last month, who's ready for another? Book: I've finally got around to finishing Louise Pentland's Robin Wilde series. I finished the first book a while back so I had the two sequels to finish and it's just taken me a while to get into them. Once I started though, I really enjoyed them. They're so easy to read and makes me forget about life's little stresses.  Film: Is it strange I haven't been watching films recently? I used to prefer films to tv but now I'm a tv binge watcher. We ended up treating ourselves to Wonder Woman 1984 which was good but a disappointment after the first for sure. I thought the first scene was amazing but then it got quite boring and went on a little too long, if I'm honest.  TV Show: This month has been another for watched television, but not quite as many as January ! Travellers was our couple show of choice, and I've loved watching Shadowhunters again. I also finished Firefly Lan

Another year, another Valentine's Day and this year was a little different. Traditionally, we would normally go out but of course in Covid times, that couldn't happen. I was also working a night shift so we celebrated a day early. I still wanted to make it special so I probably went a little overboard on presents, but I thought it would be fun to do a similar present post from Christmas . I tried to make his extra special by doing it treasure hunt style around the house! Luke always complains of a bad back, even more so when practicing archery regularly. When I try to give him a back massage, he complains it’s not hard enough so I treated him to a back and neck massager . It’s a little annoying it needs to be plugged in but so far it works well and I’m enjoying it on my feet after a long shift. It’s really versatile and can be used pretty much anywhere.  I also bought him a beer subscription with Beer 52 which I also got him for Christmas. I’m planning to share a full review

I am so excited to officially say that I am NIPE Qualified. NIPE stands for Newborn and Infant Physical Examination. It is a screening on newborn babies within 72 hours of birth, and then once again between 6 to 8 weeks. It can not pick up on or diagnose all problems so education should still be given to families if serious symptoms appear. The second screen is needed because some conditions appear later on. It especially looks at babies hearts, hips and eyes.  Traditionally, the examination is completed by paediatricians and general practitioners but over recent years, it has become widely accepted that the midwife, having received specialist training, is the appropriate health professional to conduct the examination on low-risk infants. Not only does this prevent delays in care, but it also recognises the importance of continuity of care and the more in depth, careful communication. This allows the midwife to continue to lead normal care and also ensures holistic care.  My year of st

Valentine's Day celebrations went perfectly, plus I had some big house upgrades!  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  If you saw last week's vlog , you'll have seen some sneak peaks of my Valentine's Day celebrations. I was actually on a night shift on the 14th February this year, so we celebrated a day long and the whole day was pretty much perfect. Of course, it wasn't quite how we would normally celebrate, but I wanted to make it special so I decided to plan out a little treasure hunt, and probably go a little overboard at the same time. I wrote out 8 little 4 line rhyming poems, linking to the present and location. I had so much fun planning it all out, but I was a little nervous he would hate it. He ended up loving it and I'm so glad he played along!  We did his first whilst brunch cooked. I'm sharing a whole post about what we got each other on Wednesday too so stay tuned for that here . Then I opened mine and loved them too! I think we both go

Once again, another belated review from a Christmas present from a few years ago. This time, it's a Blissy pillowcase and I was waiting to use it until I moved into my new house, so that it would be well looked after. I have also recently shared my sleep struggles , so whilst it's gotten a lot better, I thought what a perfect time to start using it! Silk is a natural fibre, which is comfortable and soft. It has been a well-known secret used in the beauty industry for a number of years. As a pillowcase, the benefits are huge. First of all, it helps maintain natural oils. This keeps hair healthy and ensures skin moisture, retaining elasticity. The latter is especially important in ageing skin. It also reduces the amount of product absorbed (over a tradition pillowcase) therefore night time skincare products stay on your skin and not on the pillow! The second is that it reduces friction between contact and the silk pillow. For hair, it reduces the static and friziness, whilst min

I've spoken a lot about being in a relationship during a pandemic, but what about those still looking for love or those who can't meet with their partner due to current lockdown restrictions? Like my previous post last week, I also asked some other bloggers for their tips on the topic too.  Trust me, I've been there. In the first lockdown, my boyfriend and I didn't see each other for almost 5 months. I moved to Wakefield for 2 weeks, before then going to Wales to live with my dad and his girlfriend, whilst he remained in Leicester living with his mum and step dad.  Whilst my boyfriend and I were separated during the first lockdown, we were lucky enough to have already found each other, therefore for me, my experience of online dating during a pandemic was about keeping connected. We spoke throughout the day via messages, made the effort to call each other once a week, but often more, and attempted to have weekly date nights via Facetime. However, the latter turned out

I can’t quite believe it’s been a whole month since I qualified as a midwife and started my job. I’ve had so many mixed feelings throughout this first month working and I just really wanted to write them all down in one place so I can look back on these memories.  Fist of all, I just want to say that I think it’s perfectly normal to feel that way, and having talked to other newly qualified midwives (NQMs), many are in agreement. I've had some of the highest highs but also some of the lowest lows. It's so strange and can quite literally change at the flick of the switch. My mood really does depend on how the shift went and it's hard being so emotional.  The standout moment so far has been a shoulder dystocia for me. For those that don't know, a shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency that needs immediate action to prevent morbidity and mortality. It happens after vaginal delivery of the head, when (usually) the baby's anterior shoulder gets caught behind the moth

Finishing a week of night shifts made me exhausted but I kicked into action and had some productive days off work.  Click here for the vlog or watch below.  I worked a lot of night shifts in a short period of time so I just decided to stick to night shift mode in between the two sets. Luke came over on one of my nights off and brought a yummy KFC takeaway, before making me some scrumptious chocolate butterfly buns. We used my silicone cupcake cases for the first time and absolutely loved them!   After finishing all my night shifts, I finally kicked my butt into action. I had a sleep day and then another day that was completely wasted by being in and out of sleep all day, so knew I had to do my to-do list as soon as possible. The plan was to clean the house, supermarket shop, post office, return items, go for a walk with my cousin and try to finish my online training.  I didn't quite manage to tick everything off but I did manage to buy some new jumpers from Sainsbury's. One I

If you saw my " What I got for Christmas " post, you'll have seen I got some silicone cupcake cases, alongside some other reusable baking goods. Well I finally got around to use the cases and I wanted to share my verdict.   These silicone cupcake cases come in a pack of 12 or 24. When I saw these, I immediately thought that the colours are so bright and pretty. I've also actually been having quite a hard time buying cupcake cases at the moment, at least cute ones.  If you've followed me for a while, you'll have seen I'm trying to be more  sustainable  and that starts with small changes at home. I love that these are completely infinitely reusable, plus are pretty. Of course, these can only be used when you know where they're going, for example, in a bake sale, paper versions will still be needed.  The cases are surprisingly big. I would class them more as muffins than cupcakes, but it means it's a great sized treat, and can even be used for other

Relationships are hard at the best of times, but during a pandemic it's even harder. Whether it's finding a new love online , or trying to keep the spark alive whilst living on top of each other 24/7, lockdown can make it difficult to make dates romantic. Plus, the monotonous nature of being at home has left a lot of people being frustrated with their other halves.  I've spoken about some of my relationship difficulties over the past few weeks and I'm pleased to say things have got better! For me, organising little activities to switch up date night has been important, but also allows us to reconnect. The  honest communication  and  I felt  activity have both helped us in doing this and I'm excited to continue to work on the relationship to improve. I think that all relationships require work and I'm coming up to 2 years in mine, so the honeymoon period is probably behind us. I asked some other bloggers to share their top tips on working on relationships during

I've been wanting to do this post for a long time but I haven't got around to it. I think it's safe to say after 3 years of being a student midwife, I can comment on the topic and give some tips on what to pack in your placement bag. I really wish I'd done this post before Christmas because of two reasons. The first being I'm no longer a student so it seems a bit silly, but in the grand scheme of things, I still take similar items as a qualified midwife so at least I can give a small insight from that perspective. The other is because I actually have already taken a lot of my items home to my mother's house, so I can't take pictures of the items themselves!  First and most important "BIBLE" is what I'm going to call my "Student Must Have Paperwork Bundle". This included my red book of European Union and Midwifery Requirements to get signed off, timesheet and little pocket sized memory book, which all lived in a small A6 folder to keep