Thursday 28 May 2015

Bump update - 25/26/27 weeks

I'm really not sure where the last couple of weeks have gone but we've pretty busy here at Squishy headquarters and before I know it I've missed THREE updates! Oooopsie! To be honest things haven't changed drastically enough for me to fill three posts with updates so here they are combined...

Bump

Baby Squish has certainly popped out since my last update and is growing nicely according to my midwife. At my 25 week checkup she was measuring exactly 25 weeks which is reassuring to hear, hopefully she won't be a whopper!


G has felt loads more kicks now which is super exciting and he's even caught a glimpse of my belly jerking from the outside. So so amazing but so strange all at once!

What have we been up to?

Well...where do I start? To cut a very long story short being an air hostess my airline had told me I could spend my pregnancy grounded at home as I live a long long way from the airport and commuting everyday wouldn't be practical, but they've since gone back on this and told me I had to come to work in the office with immediate effect in order to continue getting paid so I have started this in the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately because of my gallstone problems the doctor has recommended I only work a reduced number of hours each week as they only expect my pain to get worse as Squishy grows but this is being assessed regularly so we'll see how I get on.
During weeks 24 - 26 I was suffering really badly and getting pains most days but touch wood they seem to have eased off a little this last week which is a relief and a welcome break from writhing around in pain.
G has been getting in the swing of his new job and is really loving it so far which is such a relief and so nice to see. You know what they say "find a job you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life" - 100% I agree!
On my days off I've been mostly taking it easy at home as the doctor recommended but I've been able to catchup with some friends and their kids which is always fun.

Weight/Cravings

I'm actually a little concerned with my weight situation but not for the reason I expected. Throughout my pregnancy I had put on 9lbs up to this point but over the last couple of weeks I seem to have dropped down again to 193.25lbs meaning that my total weight gain is now only 0.25lb! All my pregnancy apps and my midwife are telling me that the baby should weigh at least 2lbs by this point so in fact I must have LOST weight since becoming pregnant which I was definitely not expecting this far in.
I can only think it's where my gallstone pain has been making me vomit pretty frequently but all the experts are telling me the baby will still be getting all the nutrients she needs, it's just me that will be feeling rubbish so I'm trying not to worry too much.
Cravings wise I've been eating a lot of poached eggs on toast - YUM! Seriously cannot get enough and I like having the control of cooking the eggs myself to make sure everything is cooked thoroughly and super fresh. 

Symptoms/Movement

The last couple of weeks I've been getting heartburn more and more so I guess if old wives tales are to be believed we've got a baby girl with some serious hair on the way! 
I'm finding it harder to get up off the sofa and out of bed in the mornings & I'm getting more restless in the night now and find myself tossing & turning to get comfy.
Also I definitely definitely need to pee more often - sorry TMI I know - just in the daytime at the moment, thankfully it hasn't started waking me up just yet.
Movement have increased both in frequency and strength crazy amounts the last few weeks. Squishy is definitely getting herself into a little routine, I get a lot of movement first thing in the morning, about 1-2pm, 8-9pm and then last thing at night as I relax in bed. Touch wood she's not at the stage where the kicks wake me up in the night yet but I'm sure it won't be long.

Mood

Excited to meet our baby girl and super impatient already!!

Gender

GIRL!!!

Appointments

I had my 25 week checkup with my midwife which was all fine. Squishy's heartbeat is strong, she is a good size for this stage of pregnancy and moving well so generally Karen (my midwife) was happy with everything. To be honest, touchwood as everything is going smoothly so far pregnancy wise most of my appointments are spent discussing gallstone issues which unfortunately they can't do much about. I'm waiting for another referral to see a surgeon and hopefully I'll be able to get a surgery date sorted to have my gallbladder removed once Squishy has arrived.

Shopping 

Far far too many things to mention in this already crazy long post!! I definitely need to get cracking with these haul posts.
Probably most exciting we ordered and put together Squishy's big girl cotbed which I love love love!!!


We went for this Winnie the Pooh themed cotbed in the end from Obaby. It has Winnie carved into the ends which is such a cute touch, has three mattress heights, teething rails and most importantly converts into a big girl bed so it will be suitable until Squishy is 4 so will hopefully save us some money in the long term.

Wow - sorry this turned into such a mammoth post. I promise to keep the updates more regular, short and sweet in future.

If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin'
Are you around the 27 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's
XOXO

Sunday 10 May 2015

Bump update - 24 weeks

Bump

This week bump has definitely grown! It's becoming much rounder and obvious through my clothing whereas before I had to really breathe out and relax to show it off. 


What have we been up to?

This week we had a good sort out around the house. We've finally got round to doing some more DIY and out up a shelf and curtain rail in Squishy's nursery so everything is starting to come together a bit more. We also took a trip to Bluewater and picked up a couple of cute bits.

Weight/Cravings

I'm still too scared to weigh myself! I'm actually going to make myself do it before my next update!! But I know I'm definitely feeling heavier and more awkward.
I haven't had any new cravings this week but I'm starting to miss alcohol and being able to have the odd drink. I've found myself really fancying caramel frappacino's from Starbucks but I've definitely noticed they're just not the same with decaf coffee.

Symptoms/Movement

Squishy's kicks have got much more intense and precise. I've seen my belly move from the outside a couple of times now which is amazing but very very weird! I've been suffering badly with gallstone attacks this week. They've been coming at least every 48hrs, if not everyday which is horrible. The pain has been making me vomit most days so I've been feeling pretty rubbish and exhausted from it all.

Mood

So so fed up with being in pain all the time and feeling so uncomfortable. Obviously it's not pregnancy related as such (although the size of the baby is making it worse now) but that almost makes me feel even more upset about it. I really feel like my pregnancy is being overshadowed and tarnished by these stupid gallstone problems. I'm at in time in my life where I should be taking it easy and enjoying being pregnant for the first time but instead I'm doubled up in pain for up to 6hrs a day. I'm a sad girl this week :(

Gender

A pink pink pink princess!!

Appointments

I didn't actually have any appointments booked for this week but I did manage to sort out getting a note from the doctor so that I can work medically reduced hours because of all the gallstone pain which was a relief. The problem is I never know when the pain is going to come or how long it will last for but when it happens I literally can't move! I'm doubled up in pain, writhing around struggling to breathe until it goes away again so I'm
petrified it will happen when I'm driving and the doctor has agreed it's best for me to work as little as possible to try to eliminate the chance of that happening.

Shopping

Ummm....how cute are these two? 


I couldn't resist when we went to Bluewater! Squishy has quite a few large cuddly toys now but I wanted to get some smaller ones that she can enjoy sooner rather than later - and be used as some photo props of course! I've had my eye on the Cath Kidston elephant for a while, I'm sure you've noticed my elephant obsession by now. She was only £6 and is super duper soft and a really gorgeous crochet knit.
Then Jellycat bunny doesn't need any explanation really does she? Just because!

I finally caved in and picked up some maternity leggings from H&M and a little maternity vest top that was in the sale. We also finally bought the pink polka dot dungarees for Squishy that I have wanted ever since we found out she was a girl. We bought them in 6-9months so hopefully she can get some good use out of them rather than them going to waste this summer.

I think that's about all for this week. If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin'
Are you around the 24 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's
XOXO

Friday 8 May 2015

South East Baby & Toddler Show - Part 2

So to be perfectly honest this is a post I've ummm'd and aaah'd about writing and have been putting off because I wasn't that impressed with the South East Baby & Toddler Show but when I started blogging I wanted to record a completely true and honest account of pregnancy and all my thoughts so I thought what the hell...


You may remember back in March I blogged my excitement when I found out about the show. We decided to give THE baby show at the excel centre in London a miss. I thought the sheer size of it would be a bit overwhelming and we didn't know whether Squishy was blue or pink back then so we thought we'd be restricted on what we could buy.

So a couple of Sunday's ago we set off with our friends Lucy, Simon and their gorgeous three month old baby girl Betsy to Sandown Park in Esher, Surrey. The venue was really good for an event of this style. Sandown Park is a large horseracing course but the baby show was held in the event centre. It is easy to find, well sign posted from the motorway and has great parking facilities.

We arrived just after 11am and even though the show had only opened at 10 it was already packed! The initial queue to get in wasn't very big and we were quickly ushered into a longer queue for our freebies. I was given a mum-to-be Emma's diary goodie bag, some packets of baby porridge, a MAM feeding bottle and some different Nutrimum pregnancy cereal bars (which you can read my review on here). I know Lucy received slightly different items already being a mummy but they were just variations of the same products really. I wasn't overly impressed with any of this, especially the mum-to-be pack which every pregnant lady can pick up for free anyway so I already had sitting at home but then again a freebie is a freebie isn't it so I guess I shouldn't complain?



The crowds gathered around the first couple of stalls was ridiculous! I mean we literally struggled to walk through, never mind poor Luce with the pram. I was panicking that the whole show was going to be like this but thankfully it wasn't and the crowds did thin out slightly as we moved around the stalls.

The popular brands, Mamas and Papas, iCandy, Bugaboo, Tommee Tippee, Maxi Cosi & Oyster were absolutely mobbed which was annoying. Even though we weren't shopping for anything in particular it would have been nice to be able to get a closer look at what was on offer. In particular I wanted to ask some questions about our Oyster 2 travel system and ask for some demonstrations but unfortunately we didn't get the chance.

Even though the venue was a pretty good size I wasn't blown away by the stalls on offer. There were only a handful of big big names and a lot of the stalls were offering exactly the same products as one another so it was a case of once you'd seen one you'd seen them all unfortunately. 



We didn't stop for anything to eat or drink because to be honest we weren't actually at the show for that long. From what I could see refreshments were quite overpriced but that's to be expected I guess. Bizarrely we discovered that all toilets and most importantly baby changing facilities were upstairs with difficult to navigate access. For an event where there were hundreds of new mummies all obviously complete with large tracks systems this wasn't the best thought out idea.

I reckon it took us around half an hour to comfortably get round all the stalls and we were probably there for around 90mins or so taking our time, dawdling round and going back and forth to a couple of stalls that took our fancy. I don't know if I just had unrealistic expectations and expected a larger event like the show in London but I was planning a full day at the show, or at least a good few hours.

As I said we weren't shopping for anything in particular but we did pick up a couple of cute bits & hunted down some bargains.

First up was a lovely little stall called Bubba Bibs which was actually causing all the commotion and crowding right at the entrance to the show. The stall was too busy when we first got there but we managed to go back at a quieter time.
As you can probably guess they specialise in bibs, dribble bibs in particular and had some great offers on. We picked up 6 bibs for £10 which I think is amazing value, you'd struggle to even find bibs that cheap somewhere like Asda or Primark!


The photo 100% doesn't do these bibs justice. They are SO soft, really thick and are an amazing fleecy material on the back which I imagine would make them extra absorbent for all the dribble and milk that will be inevitably heading their way. They had a huge selection of cute colours, styles, patterns and slogans and I could easily have bought more. 

We also found this adorable little baby Converse set. It contains a short sleeve vest, hat and little booties and was £15. I've come across a lot of the Converse sets with just a hat and socks but never one like this that include a babygro as well.


The only thing I'm not sure about with this set is the sizing. All items are 0-6 months which is unusual right? I mean surely there's a big difference in th size of a newborn and a 6 month old baby? Still we shall see and once Squishy is here I'll be able to report back and let you know at what age this fitted her best.

The last few items we picked up were from the MAM stall. Even though MAM are a huge household brand we actually hadn't bought anything for Squishy from the company until this point. They had a great 3 for £10 offer on lots of different items.
We picked up some dummies suitable for 0+ months, dummy clips and a teether for a little later on but they had lots of other items to chose from, in particular lots of weaning items and bottles.


Up until this point we hadn't bought any dummies for Squishy and G is very anti! Don't get me wrong I'm obviously not going to be shoving them down her throat or anything and it would be great to not have to use them but I'm definitely not ruling it out and I expect at 3am when nothing will settle our little princess G may well change his mind as well so at least now we've got the option.

This hasn't put off the idea of baby shows in general and I think next year we probably will go to the big baby show in London with Squish in tow but I wouldn't bother with the South East version again.

Have you been to any baby shows? I'd love to hear your opinion, especially on this event or The Baby Show at the Excel centre?
XOXO

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Bump update - 23 weeks

Bump
 
I feel like Squishy must be having a growth spurt this week. I'm definitely much more aware of her in my tummy now but my bump doesn't seem to be growing drastically so she must be getting more cramped in there surely. I'm starting to notice the extra effort required in lugging a baby bump around, I keep forgetting that I'm a little slower than I used to be and finding myself running late for everything or getting out of breath easily

 
What have we been up to?
 
This week G started his new job so that's all been very exciting for him! I've been suffering quite badly with the gallstones again so haven't done an awful lot but I managed to catchup with the girls and all their gorgeous babies in the park one morning which was lovely.
 
Weight/Cravings
 
This week I am love love loving coconut water! Can't get enough of the stuff. I've also been really fancying ice lollies/ice creams - any type I'm not fussy - and popcorn.
 
Symptoms/Movement
 
Gallstone pain is still my only real symptom which isn't even really a pregnancy once is it? haha I think it's just made worse by pregnancy and apparently the bigger Squishy gets the more I'm going to suffer so I'm not expecting it to ease off anytime soon unfortunately. I've definitely been feeling bigger this week and heavier. It's more difficult getting up off the sofa and walking for long periods of time, I'm definitely tiring more quickly.
Squishy however is going crazy in my belly now. Sometime I can properly see my tummy jerking around from the outside which is bizarre and amazing at the same time! Somehow G always manages to miss it, Squish will do a huge almighty kick and I'll say "quick come over here and feel" and then she stops altogether - typical!
 
Mood
 
I've been worrying a lot about money this week and stressing quite a lot which isn't fun. I'm really trying not to because I know it's not good for the baby but I'm finding it really hard. I'm naturally a major worrier!
 
Baby's gender
 
Still a little girly - I had a re-scan of our 20 week scan and the sonographer confirmed Squishy is definitely still a girl
 
Appointments
 
As you may remember me mentioning Squishy did not co-operate at all in our 20 week scan and is firmly stuck on her belly so unfortunately we couldn't get all the checks and measurements done that we needed to. However that meant I got to go back for another scan this week which I'm never going to complain about, it's so lovely seeing our little lady on the screen. This week she was still in the breach position, which they've said is nothing to worry about just yet but it made it tricky again for the sonographer to get a good look at her heart. With G having a mild heart murmur I think this is something they were particularly keen to keep an eye on (hence us going back) but luckily they got everything they needed and Squishy is perfectly healthy! At the moment she's looking pretty average in all of her measurements apart from the diameter of her belly which for some crazy reason is huge!! haha lets hope she doesn't take after her mumma in that department! She is weighing 1lb 5oz at the moment and the sonographer was really happy with everything.
 
Shopping
 
We actually look like serious shop-a-holics when I always have something to put in this section but this week we picked up a few more bits. We've somehow ended up with over 20 Tommee Tippee feeding bottles - a little excessive for even me! So I took a pack back to Boots and exchanged for some more glamorous items: Breast pads, Maternity pads, Disposable Knickers, Cotton Wool, Sudocream and a starter set of Aptamil milk which we plan to take to the hospital with us.
I also picked up these really cute under the sea toys from Mothercare which I've had my eyes on for ages along with the playmat. I was devastated to find out they were discontinuing this particular range so when I came across these cuties reduced I couldn't resist.
I was over the moon when I found the baby ocean playmat pretty cheap and brand new on eBay because as I mentioned Mothercare have just discontinued it right before we wanted to purchase. And last but not least I also picked up a couple of cute Minnie Mouse baby sleeping bags
 
I think that's about all for this week. If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin'
Are you around the 23 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's
XOXO

Friday 1 May 2015

Nutrimum Pregnancy Cereal Bars - Review

For the last couple of weeks I've been trying a new product so I thought it was about time I shared my thoughts with you.


The Nutrimum Pregnancy Cereal Bars are  relatively new to the market and just came onto our shelves earlier this year I believe. The idea behind them is basically that each bar contains the 5 main nutrients that are important during pregnancy: Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Omega 3, Iron and Iodine. So by eating one of these bars everyday you would ensure that both baby and mum get all the nutritional goodness that the professionals recommend and you don't need to take any other supplements.

The bars also contain a great source of fibre, are low in salt, have no added artificial colours or flavourings and are suitable for vegetarians.


Since finding out I was pregnant taking pregnancy recommended vitamins is definitely something that I have made a conscious effort to stick to, especially in the first 12 weeks when folic acid is particularly important - even if I do forget more days than I should, yes baby brain is already kicking in - so it would have been great to find out about these cereal bars sooner. I think Nutrimum are really on to something here and these bars are such a great idea. There was definitely a big gap in the market for an alternate vitamin option. 
I love having another choice in cereal bar form which lets face it is always going to be more appealing than your traditional tablet type vitamins.

The fact that these come in raisin and chocolate flavour is an added bonus for the crazy chocoholic in me.
Taste wise I wouldn't say they are the absolute scrummiest thing I've ever come across but they are pleasant. You can definitely taste the chocolate and they are pretty sweet, which if you have a sweet tooth like me is a good thing but I can understand pregnant women may be surprised to get such a sweet taste from supplements. I've found the bars pretty filling, I have been eating them as my breakfast on more than one occasion and not finding myself hungry again until at least lunchtime which is quite unusual for a cereal bar.



The only downside I have found to the Nutrimum Pregnancy Cereal Bars is perhaps the price. At £4.99 for just 5 bars they aren't cheap but then again traditional pregnancy supplements in tablet form aren't exactly cheap either. I probably won't continue to eat them every day for the rest of my pregnancy because it would work out quite expensive and we're really trying hard to save money but I am definitely going to pick up a few more boxes to keep in the cupboard because they are such a super easy product to grab on the go and keep in my handbag.
I've also found the Nutrimum bars pretty hard to come across. The only place I've found to really stock them is larger Boots stores, which isn't a problem for me as I can get there quite easily but if you like to regularly do all your food shopping in the supermarket or don't have a large Boots store locally this could be annoying.

Nutrimum pregnancy cereal bars also come in summer fruits flavour which I can't wait to try.
Also in the range Nutrimum have pregnancy muesli, breastfeeding cereal bars and breastfeeding muesli all in a variety of flavours.

All Nutrimum products are currently 3 for 2 online at Boots.com so it's a perfect time to stock up or try these for the first time.

Have you been taking pregnancy supplements? I'd love to hear from you

XOXO