Papple Gifts, Monroeville, OH (2026)

12/13/2021

Drowning in paperwork 😩

Obtaining the birth certificate turned out to be a real easy process. Paul collected it the day after birth and, as we’d already competed the pre birth order, we are listed as parents on the certificate.

Next job is the passport. This is more complicated. There are so many elements to get right. Not helped by being sleep deprived parents if a newborn and 4 year old!

We have enlisted an expedition service to help us secure a passport quicker and to avoid travelling to another city where a passport office is located. Regular passport processing times are still very long here due to the effects of Covid.

We still had to travel to the next town as that’s where the nearest passport acceptance agent is located. That wonderful lady has so much patience while we navigated all the various forms required and made mistakes on at least 10 passport application forms 😳.

Good job there’s a wonderful cafe next door! Lyn Marie’s is my idea of the perfect coffee shop. Cute seasonal decor, soft cushions and a cozy atmosphere. There’s even some cute items for sale and I got Maia a cute dress!

We dropped the sealed envelope with all the required documents at a FedEx drop off point just as the collection lady appeared. Just in time! The drop off point was located in a Dollar General which was handy as I seen some cute Christmas items…

Speaking of shopping we also got to Target!! What a wonderful place that is! Plus we had fun getting into the Christmas spirit in Walmart too!

Fingers crossed we get the passport by the end of this week 🤞🤞🤞🤞.

12/12/2021

A very special friend came to see us last weekend!

Trina, who was Maia’s surrogate, came to visit us last weekend all the way from Missouri! This was a long 12 hour drive for her and her son Noah!

It’s amazing to see them again and we spend a wonderful weekend together. We hung out catching up on each other’s lives. Then we traveled to nearby Marblehead lighthouse and Lake Erie. We had dinner with our current surrogate and her family as well. What a fantastic weekend!!

12/01/2021

It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for…..

At the end of an amazing Thanksgiving weekend Ruairí Eóin Hunter arrived at 8:44am USA time yesterday!! He weighed in at an impressive 10lbs. Our surrogate is recovering well and is a complete superstar (& her husband is too!). We will be eternally grateful to them both for their precious gift to us.

Big thanks also to their family who have take care of Maia so Paul could be present during the birth and hours afterwards. This is no easy task! We were able to have a video call all together last night where she go to see him for the first time.

Big thanks to the hospital staff here for keeping us comfortable. To our surro’s doctor for delivering him safely. To the midwives who took such great care of our surro in the run up to birth. To the IBCLCs on duty who are doing their best to help me get a good breastfeeding routine established. The nursery nurses who check on Ruairí and make sure he is doing ok. The wonderful clerk who’s helping us get the birth certificate and other paperwork arranged. They are all fantastic!!

Big thanks to our family and friends too for all their support and encouragement over the weeks and (some very long) years. We couldn’t do it without you all.

We held a video call with little Maia. She’s beyond delighted and cannot wait to meet him in real life! Even if her expectations of what he can do (crawl to her and play with her) are a little unrealistic 😂.

11/30/2021

When the Late, Late was early, early!

Black Friday started off with a trip to Walmart to check out the deals. Paul wanted to get a dongle so we could stream the Late Late Toy Show and display it onto the TV.

We made an early lunch then got ready to watch the show in our PJS at 4:30pm. It’s still daylight outside! Bit chilly though. We settled down and called aunt and Nana to watch the show alongside them. Great show once again!!

Next day we popped into town to see the lights being switched on. So lovely to see all the families gathered around. The snow added to the atmosphere!

11/27/2021

Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve so much to be grateful for this year!
Part 1.

The last few days have past in a blur. Getting settled and going grocery shopping. First time buying eggs in years, miss our little chickies! Paul has installed a camera on the coop back home so we can see them playing around! Miss them and our wee doggies. Good to see - used that in my Thanksgiving apple crumble and brandy butter (brought Mr Kipling’s mince pies with us- they don’t have them here).

On Tuesday we headed to a soft play area. We felt Maia needed to burn off some energy after being cooped up in planes and cars for the past few days. She had an absolute ball at Jungle Junction in a nearby town. She even made a few wee friends which was lovely.

Wednesday we went for a walk through Norwalk town. Charming place. Even has a Dr Livingston(e), I presume! Such pretty shop fronts, even if the Grinch was trying to tell us something!! Nice to see lots of porches and doorways decorated for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dinosaur eating presents delighted Maia!

We arrived back at our house (final picture) and got ready to go watch the turkey being stuffed!!

11/17/2021

An essential piece of induced lactation equipment!!

No, not the S1 pump but the cute doggy, Peggy, on my lap. She’s loving having mammy sitting down for the regular pumping sessions. She gets to be petted and I get a release of oxytocin helping the breastmilk production process further.

It’s also a great time to catch my breath and practice some mindfulness in advance of our big journey ahead.

Some of the other things I do to help with pumping are:

❤️ keep well hydrated- I struggle with this one!! Lots of water and healthy snacks.

❤️ I use a pumping bra so I can go hands free and my pump (Spectra S1) can be cordless.

❤️ use coconut oil to help with the seal and reduce friction.

❤️ don’t focus on the output. Sometimes covering the pump/collection bottles helps with this.

❤️get a good electric pump. I’ve a Spectra S1 but Medela, Ardo and other companies have excellent pumps too.

❤️ check fl**ge size. Trina, the wonderful local lactation nurse, has given me a fl**ge size chart to help with this. The correct size is important You can get them online on the Spectra or Ardo websites.

❤️consider middle of the night pumping sessions. Prolactin (the milk making hormone) is high in the middle of the night (1-5am) so it’s a good time to pump. Easier said than done 😂.

❤️ consider power pumping every now and then. This might help increase output:
Pump 20mins
Relax 10mins
Pump 10mins
Relax 10mins
Pump 10mins
- tip watch a good show on Netflix or similar to distract you.

❤️ on that note: keep relaxed. Petting dogs help as in my picture!! Or relaxing music, nice quiet (if possible!!) environment etc.

❤️ keep warm. Wrap up and keep cosy helps too.

❤️ and lastly (& probably most importantly) think about babies. If you have one - inhale that lovely smell off their clothes, watch videos of them, etc. If you are expecting think happy thoughts about your time together post birth.

11/17/2021

An essential piece of induced lactation equipment!!

No, not the S1 pump but the cute doggy, Peggy, on my lap. She’s loving having mammy sitting down for the regular pumping sessions. She gets to be petted and I get a release of oxytocin helping the breastmilk production process further.

It’s also a great time to catch my breath and practice some mindfulness in advance of our big journey ahead.

Some of the other things I do to help with pumping are:

❤️ keep well hydrated- I struggle with this one!! Lots of water and healthy snacks.

❤️ I use a pumping bra so I can go hands free and my pump (Spectra S1) can be cordless.

❤️ use coconut oil to help with the seal and reduce friction.

❤️ don’t focus on the output. Sometimes covering the pump/collection bottles helps with this.

❤️get a good electric pump. I’ve a Spectra S1 but Medela, Ardo and other companies have excellent pumps too.

❤️ check fl**ge size. Trina, the wonderful local lactation nurse, has given me a fl**ge size chart to help with this. The correct size is important You can get them online on the Spectra or Ardo websites.

❤️consider middle of the night pumping sessions. Prolactin (the milk making hormone) is high in the middle of the night (1-5am) so it’s a good time to pump. Easier said than done 😂.

❤️ consider power pumping every now and then. This might help increase output:
Pump 20mins
Relax 10mins
Pump 10mins
Relax 10mins
Pump 10mins
- tip watch a good show on Netflix or similar to distract you.

❤️ on that note: keep relaxed. Petting dogs help as in my picture!! Or relaxing music, nice quiet (if possible!!) environment etc.

❤️ keep warm. Wrap up and keep cosy helps too.

❤️ and lastly (& probably most importantly) think about babies. If you have one - inhale that lovely smell off their clothes, watch videos of them, etc. If you are expecting think happy thoughts about your time together post birth.

11/17/2021

Someone is pleased with our new suitcases!!

They are big enough to send her over to the USA in!!

got these from . They are a great size and *should* be big enough for our requirements (keep me away from & 😂).

I made her wee T-shirt! I couldn’t resist after making similar for others via . She’s so ready to be a big sister!!

Packing day today. Getting very real now!!

O

11/17/2021

Someone is please with our new suitcases!!

They are big enough to send her over to the USA in!!

got these from . They are a great size and *should* be big enough for our requirements (keep me away from & 😂).

Packing day today. Getting very real now!!

11/14/2021

Next stop America!!

This time next week we will have landed in the USA. Maia is beyond excited and wants to go now!! A busy week ahead of washing clothes and packing bags. Maia is delighted with her case. Looking forward to travelling to the airport and flying with again. It’s been too long.

Paul has been very busy deep cleaning the baby car seat and pushchair. Everything is coming up sparkling. Great to be able to reuse some of Maia’s baby stuff again. We’ve friends staying in our house so big clean up there too 😂

Our ten year wedding anniversary was on Thursday where we had a special stay at . We had such a special time there. In the lighthouse there is a sign “Next stop America!”. That’s the next stop for us too!

36 weeks today 😍

10/28/2021

We’ve news! We are adding a pumpkin to our patch!!

Baby Hunter is due via surrogacy in December! It’s been a long, long road to get to this point (the pandemic didn’t help) but we are finally here. Maia is beyond excited to meet her new sibling!!

Papple gifts will be taking a short break while we await our new arrival. We will announce it here when we are ready to go again and this time we will have our own wee model!! In the meantime give our other page a follow

Thank you so much to everyone that has helped us get to this point so far. Please wish us the best in the next few weeks as we prepare for our new arrival. I’ll be continuing our story on my other page if you’d like to follow along
Photo session with at

10/26/2021

For your little pumpkin!Have you been to a patch yet?

We visited at the weekend. Had a fabulous time selecting our fav gourd! Also got a photo session with Can’t wait to see them!

Dress your little pumpkin in our cute pumpkin vests! They will certainly be the pick of the patch in their product.

We have an exciting announcement coming up. Therefore if you have been eyeing up a Papple gift please order tight away!
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Papple Gifts

12/13/2021

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