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

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

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

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

Our 20 week scan

I promised a little more detail on our 20 week scan so here's pretty much what happened. We were booked in at 10am on Thursday 2nd April, a date that definitely feels like it had been on the calendar for so so long and took its time in coming round. But of course it finally did and off we went, crazy excited to hopefully find out if our little Squishy was a boy or a girl.

We had to wait around for quite a while this time to be seen which is always a little bit annoying but I'm sure it probably wasn't even as long as it seemed we were just super impatient and over excited! Once we finally got into our ultrasound room we were told by the lovely sonographer that she would try to get all the measurements and checks that she needed out of the way & then talk us through everything.

Unfortunately for us Squishy definitely had other ideas and would not co-operate at all so it was tricky to get a look at all the body parts that they needed to check, in particular her little heart. Where most babies are lying on their back for ultrasounds (as you usually see in the pictures, above for example) our little madam was lying on her tummy restricting the view of her heart.

Our sonographer did really well given the circumstances & managed to get nearly all the details. Squishy's length, weight, diameter, head, hands, feet, kidneys etc are all present and well which was such a relief to hear. I don't know if all expectant parents feel like this but it was definitely always at the back of my mind that we wouldn't know whether Squishy was entirely healthy until our 20 week anomaly scan. Obviously this is only from what they can tell so far and touch wood everything is looking great with Squishy's development at this stage so hopefully it will continue.

Then our sonographer had me trying everything to try and get Squishy to change positions. I was jumping up and down, jiggling my belly around, she sent me off for a wee, she made me drink something cold and fizzy....but no joy! Our little girl definitely seems to have inherited her daddy's stubbornness and would not budge. 

Somehow even though Squishy was shy on the day our sonographer still managed to sneak a peek in between her legs and confirm we were expecting a little girl!! I'm truly amazed that they can see details like that so clearly when I didn't have a clue what I was looking at. This honestly was the weirdest but best moment when she told us. I was absolutely convinced that we were having a boy so I was a little shellshocked I think, but in such a good way. 

We really didn't mind what sex Squishy turned out to be as long as she or he was healthy, that was the main thing on our minds and I'm such a girly girl so having our own little princess to dress in pink & pick out hairbands and tights for is a dream!

As we didn't managed to get a good look at Squishy's little heart the sonographer recommended that we come back for a rescan at 23 weeks just to double check everything was okay. I think maybe because G has a slight heart murmur this is something they wanted to be particularly cautious with as well. She did really reassure us that everything looked fine and she had seen all four chambers of the heart and each valve but all in picky little bits where Squishy kept moving and restricting her view so they would be happier if they could review all aspects of the heart in one clean sweep next time.

So last week I trotted back to the hospital on my own for our rescan. Unfortunately as G had just started a new job he couldn't get the day off but we figured he  probably wouldn't be missing much. To be honest we were right, I was pretty much in and out. The sonographer this time round first of all checked Squishy's heart which is exactly as it should be thankfully and she was very happy. She then checked all Squishy's other measurements again just to make sure she was progressing nicely since we were seen three weeks ago and everything is looking just fine. All of Squishy's measurements are average on the scale apart from the diameter of her tummy funnily enough which is right up high on the scale! Haha bless her!

The sonographer doubled checked for me and it definitely seems like Squishy is still a girl! Not that we were expecting a change of course but it's good to get a second opinion especially considering how awkward Squish was being first time round. Plus our house is full of far too many pink items for any late changes now!!

Funnily enough she hadn't actually moved at all so is still on her tummy in the breach position but they reassured me that was nothing to worry about at this stage and Squishy still has plenty of time to change position. Thankfully our sonographer at the second appointment got lucky and managed to complete all the checks she needed to.

They're estimating Squishy weighs 1lb 5oz already which is crazy! The fact that we've reached this point and Squishy is already that size and technically a viable baby now and not just a diddy foetus has definitely made this seem far more real.

Have you had a 20 week anomaly scan recently? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin

XOXO

Bump update - 21 & 22 weeks

I seem to have got rather carried away with life these last two weeks and missed out on a whole update so I thought it'd be best to lump these two together.

Bump

I don't think my bump has changed massively over the last fortnight. I've definitely becoming more confident with it though. We went out to a friends 30th birthday party last Friday and I happily wore something tight fitting to show it off rather than cover up like I would have a few weeks ago. I also managed in heels for the evening with no problems at all which I was pleased about.

 

What have we been up to? 

This week we painted Squishy's bedroom which was very exciting! Just a plain magnolia as we only rent our house and aren't allowed to do anything too crazy but it's freshened it up loads and looks so much nicer already. Once I've finished with the room adding all the little pink touches it will be amazing I'm sure.
We also went to the South East Baby & Toddler show yesterday so I will do a post all about that at some point this week.

Weight/Cravings

I've put on another pound and a half taking me to 202.5lbs now. 9.5lbs weight gain in total since finding out I was pregnant which is definitely making me nervous considering I'm sure the worst is yet to come! Eeeek!
I've definitely been craving more sweet stuff again - I know they say this happens with girls but I never really believed it. Plus I had a super sweet tooth even before I was pregnant so it's hard to tell whether its really got worse or not.

 

Symptoms/Movement

In my 21st week I was suffering quite badly with heartburn for a few days in a row. Something that luckily I hadn't experienced up until now. Thankfully a couple of spoonfuls of Gaviscon seem to sort it right out and it doesn't hang around for too long so lets hope things stay that way.
Typically just days after turning down a surgeon appointment as I hadn't been suffering, didn't want surgery whilst pregnant and felt like I was wasting everybody's time - the gallstone attacks have come back with a vengeance! It really isn't very fun at all! Nothing in particular seems to trigger it, it's totally random and there is nothing I can do or take to ease the pain until my gallbladder decides to stop having spasms all on its own :( the only thing I've found to help is a really hot hot water bottle and not moving or eating until the pain stops - which is sometimes 13 hours. I've had 2 attacks over the last week but they were so bad I had to call in sick for work but before that I hadn't had one since January so fingers crossed they don't start becoming more regular.
Squishy's movements are so so lovely to feel now. Still slightly strange but lovely all the same. It's reassuring feeling our little girl kicking away. We can't wait for the movements to get strong enough for G to feel from the outside now - hopefully it won't be too much longer because G is definitely getting impatient!

Mood

Generally I'm feeling super excited and happy. I'm getting impatient and just want to meet our little Squish now! God knows how I'm going to cope waiting 18 more weeks!! I was in Squishy's room sorting out all her little clothes last night and got a little bit overwhelmed and emotional. It's all seeming much more real now

Baby's gender

Still a little girl :) To be honest I'm not expecting this to change anytime soon! haha...it better not anyway the amount of pink stuff in our house now!

Appointments

I had my 20 week check-up with a new midwife last week, so actually at 21 weeks, but I'm so pleased I took the gamble and went to a new clinic to see a new midwife because she was lovely and totally set my mind at ease. My blood pressure came back normal again so that's looking much better. I got my MAT B1 form to send off to work so again that's making everything seem more real now. It seems crazy thinking about going onto actual maternity leave - I keep thinking that is miles off yet! We also listening to Squishy's heartbeat again which is really strong and sounding good and the midwife had a good feel around my belly and says little lady is a good size, which seems crazy to me because when I poke away I can't even feel her at all! Let alone how big she is!!

Shopping

Again the shopping is pretty much off the scale! This little madam has SO much stuff now it's not true. We're seriously not buying another single piece of clothing...you are my witnesses!
I was however waiting for the Asda Baby & Toddler event which started online Saturday and in-stores Monday so we picked up a few bargains. Obviously going to a baby show as well I was tempted into buying things that definitely weren't essential but cute all the same so I'll include them in a post soon for you to see.

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 20 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's

 

XOXO

Bump update - 20 weeks

Bump

 

Bump is well and truly here and I'm starting to love it! I definitely feel more comfortable now it's more obvious that I'm pregnant. I had my first strangers ask me how far along I was so I must be showing properly!!

 

 

 

Cravings/Weight

 

No new/old cravings, in fact that's a pretty boring part of the updates now isn't it? 

I'm weighing in at 201lbs now - ridiculously depressing crossing 200lbs but I keep reminding myself it's all for a good reason. So I've gained 8lbs in total so far now.

 

Symptoms/Movement

 

Little Squishabelle is well and truly wiggling around now. I felt her a teeny bit last week, more like flutters but this week I think she must be doing somersaults in my tummy or something because the movement is much stronger. I've also gone from noticing her once or twice a day to easily 5/6/7 times, probably 10 minute wiggle sessions at a time.

 

Mood

 

So so happy. It's really starting to sink in now that we're going to be welcoming a little baby into our family in a couple of months and we are both so excited.

 

Baby's gender

 

Little lady!! - although I will get them to double check in our scan in 3 weeks time.

 

Appointments

 

Definitely the appointment we have been waiting for we had our 20 week anomaly scan this week :)

All went amazingly well, apart from our little munchkin lying awkwardly on her tummy for the entire time so we have to go back again in a couple of weeks for them to finish all their checks.

I think I'm probably going to do a separate post on our 20 weeks scan so I'll include all the details and some pictures in there.

 

Shopping

 

There's not even any denying it anymore - the shopping is OUT . OF . CONTROL!!

Just like when we had our 12 week scan we hit the shops straight after finding out we are having a baby girl so naturally we shopped all things pink until our hearts were content.

There is far too much to list here so I will get a baby girl haul up as soon as I can.

We've also received a couple of gorgeous gifts already from some friends and Grant's sisters so it has been lovely that they are sharing our excitement.

 

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 20 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's

 

XOXO

GENDER REVEAL!!

Morning everybody - Happy Easter!

Just a quick post really to excuse my lack of blogging the last couple days. You might have seen me already mention a few hundred times that we had our 20 weeks scan on Thursday morning...and yes we found out the sex of little Squishy so we've been pretty preoccupied shopping and painting ever since then really.

Sooooo....without further ado. I am over the moon to announce that we are expecting a:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so so excited! Even though I was CONVINCED Squishy was a boy, like CONVINCED...I would have bet some serious money on it, it turns out we actually have a little Squishabelle on our hands.

After our scan we went straight to Westfield Stratford City shopping centre and shopped until our hearts were content! Plenty of cute little dresses, tights, hair bands, teeeensy shoes and little cute teddies - mostly pink of course!! You might have seen on my Instagram the absolute pink fest that our house has turned into already, God help us!

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend. I'll be back in a couple of days with some unisex and baby girls hauls and now doubt a proper 20 week bump update

XOXO

Bump update - 19 weeks

Bump

Bump is slowly growing I think. I still feel like I'm at that awkward in between stage that I've mentioned the last couple of weeks but I definitely feel like I'm getting rounder now. I caved and bought some maternity black trousers for work this week as well so I must be getting bigger.

Cravings/Weight

I can't get enough tuna (which I'm trying to limit to twice a week as advised) and chocolate this week. I also found myself really fancying chocolate milk and toast with marmalade.

 

Symptoms/Movement

No new symptoms really, my lower back is being abit of a pain still and it's hard to get up off the sofa sometimes. Once I get moving I'm fine again though, it just seems to seize up if I sit down for too long!
And after weeks of me moaning & wishing I could feel Squishy move I definitely definitely can now. Literally the day I turned 19 weeks movements started and now every evening around 10pm Squish has a good old wriggle around in my tummy - plus a couple of times during the day now as well. Bub is actually having a good old dance right no as I type this! G likes to try to talk (or sometimes shout! - I'm convinced we will have a deaf baby at this rate!) into my belly and see if he can get Squish moving, most of the time it actually does work and he thinks it's hilarious. Men eh? Still can't feel any movements from the outside of my tummy yet but I'm looking forward to that starting so G can feel it too.

Appointments

No appointments this week but I am dying with excitement for our 20 week scan on Thursday. It's at 10am nice and early and then we're going to go shopping for the rest of the day once we know whether we can start buying pink or blue bits. I honestly don't think I've ever looked forward to something so much in my life!!

Shopping

Not much again this week, the novelty of buying cute baby things has definitely worn off as we're restricted to white and neutral colours.
I'm not sure whether I've mentioned before but we've decided after lots of friends recommendations that we will be buying Asda's Little Angels range of nappies for the baby. I've been stocking up on boxes whenever they have them in stock and have a few size 2's but for the last 8-9 weeks now our local Asda never seems to have the boxes in size 1 in stock. I don't know whether there's a national shortage or something but it's very strange? We did go to a larger Asda living store over in Maidstone and bought some smaller packets of size 1's just in case nowhere gets any in. Not sure what to do about that really?
I also ordered a baby book finally! I'm not sure why its taken me so long because I'm so excited to start filling it in. We went for Bump to Birthday in the end so I can't wait for it to arrive now so I can get started.
I was also very naughty and bought two coloured items from BHS (as in the pink/blue out of bounds for now section!). I won't tell you which sex we bought for in case I jinx myself but I decided that I would simply be distraught if this little snowsuit and tracksuit set was sold out by the time we went shopping - they were in the sale and the last left in the size we need. There's plenty of other items I love for both sexes so I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding something to exchange for if it turns out I've bought the wrong sex.
As I mentioned above I finally caved in and admitted that my black trousers for work are a little bit snug under the bump now so I bought some maternity bits from New Look. I tried on about a million things but in the end I tried to spend as little as possible & just got some trousers and a t-shirt. I absolutely wish I'd done it sooner because maternity clothing is the comfiest thing ever! I genuinely quite concerned that I'm never going to want to wear normal clothes again once Squishy is here....but we'll see!

XOXO

Maternity shop #1

So I'm not sure whether I've done well to last until 19+5 weeks until I had to buy any maternity clothing or not? I don't really know when most women find they need to buy a few extra bits and bobs but I'm pretty happy that I've lasted until practically half way.

To be honest I've always been of the opinion that I don't want to buy too many maternity pieces because with Squishy being our first, money is obviously tight. G hasn't had a lot of work throughout the winter which has put even more stress on us financially so the less expense the better right now.

I'm hoping I can get buy with a lot of my normal clothes being pretty stretchy and just from cheap places like Primark or H&M so it doesn't matter too much if they get stretched out of shape and ruined and then for my final 2-3 months I'm hoping the weather will be nice enough to live in maxi dresses and maxi skirts but we'll see.

 

I definitely think there is a shortage of stylish, affordable maternity clothing on the high street. After a lot of searching the only shops I would even consider buying maternity clothes in are H&M and New Look, mainly down to the price and lack of choice in other shops. I'm going to be going on my best friends hen do when I'm 31 weeks and the thought of finding something pretty and suitable for somebody under the age of 40 is filling me with dread already!! Any suggestions please let me know? Anyhow over the last couple of weeks these are the bits I've picked up so far...

 



Intimates Essentials Maternity Briefs (4 pack) 'Over the Bump' - £10.00 Very.co.uk

These maternity knickers are without a doubt the best thing since sliced bread! If you follow me on Twitter you've probably already seen me raving about them to anybody who will listen. I can't believe my mummy friends never told me about these babies! After reading the reviews on the Very website I bought these 2 sizes larger than I would usually go and they seem pretty perfect. There's plenty of room in the bump region for more growth but they don't fall down or dig in anywhere they shouldn't. These are honestly the comfiest things I have ever worn and are so so soft against the skin. I'm sure they'd be perfect for anyone suffering with an itchy bump or for any post C-section ladies out there as they are obviously 'over bump' and super high waisted - literally right up to my ribs. 



Maternity Black Over Bump Tailored Trousers - £12.99 New Look

To be honest I don't love these trousers but they were pretty much the only tailored work appropriate maternity trousers I could find without paying Topshop prices. One of my jobs at the moment is working events in a hotel and I have to wear black trousers (not leggings!) and a white top so I didn't really have a lot of choice but to go out and purchase these once my normal trousers got a little snug. I picked these up in a 16 and I'd normally only be a 14-16 in New Look and they are pulling a little around my hips. I'm not sure they're going to last my entire pregnancy at this rate so we'll see how I get on. I do love the large bump support and the fact that the waistband is elasticated so no zippers, buttons or clasps to be phaffing around with. They are also too long for me so I assume a 34" leg but again maternity clothes don't seem to come in many options so a shorter leg wasn't an option so I'm annoyingly having to tuck them into the back of my pumps until I get round to taking them up.

Maternity Blue Hands Off The Bump T-Shirt - £7.99 New Look (although they only seem to have Coral online now)

It's just for a bit of fun really but love this t-shirt and think it will be great in the summer when I've actually got enough bump to fill it. And lets face it if you can't get away with being rude cheeky when you're pregnant then when can you? I actually got this t-shirt in a gorgeous cobalt blue colour which I'm definitely very into at the moment but they don't seem to have it online anymore so I've linked the coral version instead. I'm definitely going to be one of these people though, it's already annoying me that people think they can just grope my tummy whenever they feel like it so god knows how much worse it will get as the bump gets bigger. I think the fact that I have always been so self conscious of my weight it just feels so unnatural for people to touch my tummy, something that would normally have me cowering & slapping them away. I obviously don't mind G touching away when ever he likes to talk to the baby! haha....but that really is about it!

 

Where did you shop for maternity clothes?

Any suggestions for nice "going out" materity clothes?

I'd love to hear from you

XOXO

Bump update - 18 weeks

Bump

 

This week bump seems to have stayed about the same size so I haven't bothered getting a photo. I still feel like I'm at the awkward in between stage of pregnant & fat but G says I'm imagining it.

 

Cravings/Weight

 

No new cravings really. I did manage to demolish an entire Freddo Easter egg AND all the mini Freddo heads in the space of ten minutes though **FAIL**

 

Symptoms/Movement

 

I've been getting pins & needles in my hands in the night which wakes me up sometimes & is abit weird but that's all that's new this week. Still no definite movement but I'm desperate to feel Squishy now :(

 

Appointments

 

No appointments this week but I did finally manage to book in for my 20 week checkup after them being fully booked everytime I call so that's a relief.

 

Shopping

I actually don't think I've bought anything new this week? ...am struggling to think now! Haha

Really annoyingly though there are loads of pink/blue bits I want from BHS as soon as we know Squishy's sex and they have all gone in the sale now!!! Am panicking nothing will be left by the time we hit the shops, I'm seriously considering buying everything in sight and then taking half back! Is that acceptable?

XOXO

Bump update - 17 weeks

Bump

All of a sudden I think I definitely seem to have a bump!.....and I'm not sure how I feel about it? For weeks I've been wishing I'd start to show, just a little bit to make everything feel more real and now the bump has arrived it's really rather strange!

I am loving being able to wear tight fitting clothes to show off little Squishy because normal I seriously avoid tight clothing so it's a nice little treat. I think I just feel a bit awkward because I'm at that funny inbetween stage where people can't tell whether you've put on weight or whether you're pregnant but I'm sure bump will grow and I'll feel better about that in no time.

Cravings & Weight

Not craving anything in particular this week that I can think of? Have been trying to consciously eat a bit healthier and lay off the chocolate.

Symptoms/Movement

- My ligament pains are finally easing off - thank god! They haven't been so bad this week but I expect they are only going to resurface with a vengeance as bump grows.

- I've been feeling so so tired! Like SO tired. I've come home from work and fallen asleep on the sofa a couple of days this week. To be fair I think this definitely has something to do with the recent addition of a second, more active job and more hours which I'm still not sure was the right thing to take on. You can read more about my work confusion in my recent blog post here

- Most excitingly.....I think I can almost maybe sometimes feel Squishy wriggling. Only teeny butterfly type feelings in my tummy, like little bubbles popping but I'm sure that must be it right? It's hard to know what to expect baby movements to feel like when you've never experienced it before.

Appointments

No appointments or anything baby related this week. I was supposed to go back to the midwife after my high blood pressure fiasco last week but to be honest I didn't feel confident with their advice after that. Plus I would never have been able to get an appointment at such short notice - my midwife only works 2 days a week and books up months in advance!

Shopping

We haven't had  a lot of money this week because G didn't get paid last week like he was supposed to so we hadn't bought much - only a 12 pack of the Asda Little Angel Sensitive Cotton Soft Baby Wipes when we went food shopping (SUCH good value at £6 and can be used from birth now!)....but then I discovered Very.co.uk did some nice baby bits and placed an order late last night (I seriously regret opening an account with them. Buy now pay later is SO dangerous:

Chicco Go Carrier

4-pack of Maternity briefs

Ladybird Unisex 4-piece Stars & Stripes Set

Ladybird Unisex Sleepsuits I Love Hugs (3 pack)

Ladybird Unisex Sleepsuits Twinkle Twinkle (3 pack)

All those bits came to just under £50 and I had a £20 off voucher so for under £30 I was pretty happy.

My nan & grandad came to see us at the weekend and bought us some cute little unisex bits as well which was lovely.

Again I am determined to get some hauls up this week - I have been RUBBISH!

XOXO

How much is too much?

To be honest I wasn't sure whether I wanted to blog about this because I know it's a touchy subject and something that some women don't have a lot of choice with, but I'm struggling to find a balance with how much work is too much?

Since falling pregnant I have found myself in a pretty unusual situation with my work life. I'm an air hostess, which is amazing and a job I absolutely love, but unfortunately due to what I can only assume is EU laws I am unable to work whilst pregnant. Nobody within the company really explains to you why this is and air hostess' in America fly right up until their maternity leave begins a few weeks before the baby is due (as you would with any other job I guess) but for some reason here in Europe it's not the done thing and you have to declare you're pregnancy as soon as it is realised and from then on you are "grounded" until the baby is born.

Now usually in this situation air hostess' would go and work in the office Mon-Fri during this time but again I am in an unusually predicament that because I am an international long-haul dolly I am lucky  that I am able to manage living a long way from the airport and commuting for each flight as I tend to be away for a significant period of time each shift. Unfortunately this means it simply isn't practical for me to drive a 2-3 hour each way commute in rush hour Mon-Fri so subsequently I am grounded at home on my basic salary until Squish comes along.

Now I know no work would be some women's idea of heaven especially during the first trimester when sickness plays a big part. I know how extremely lucky I was not to suffer with that! But believe me after a few weeks with Jeremy Jyle and no-one but the puppy to talk to I was beginning to go stir crazy!

The upshot is I have taken on some temp jobs in the meantime a) for a little extra cash. G is a builder and has had a very quiet winter which has been super stressful for us, especially now I am on a reduced wage through no fault of my own and b) mostly to keep me busy and out of trouble. 

What started off as a little temp job two days a week sat down in a travel agents office has now turned into 2 temp jobs, waitressing, bar work, 37.5 hour weeks and the option of plenty more hours if I want them. And now I'm beginning to feel a little silly....

When I signed up for all this extra work I was feeling fine - fresh as a daisy in fact- I still am really. I really can't complain and have had an amazing pregnancy so far but I'm definitely finding myself coming home with NO energy now. I get in, put my feet up and already dread the next shift 'x' amount of days away.

I don't want to mess people around and pull out of shifts I have agreed to but obviously I don't want to over do it and keeping Squish safe and healthy is my absolute priority over everything else.

I know lots of other women work 37.5 hour weeks (some more I imagine!) right up until they go on maternity leave and I feel silly moaning about it but I'm torn between listening to my body and listening to my head here!

Has anybody got any advice re working hours and pregnancy? Did anybody else reduce their hours as they got further along in the pregnancy? At which stage?

Any advice would be so appreciated.

XOXO

Bump update - 16 weeks

Bump

I still don't really feel like I'm showing that much personally but other people are starting to disagree. G says I definitely have a low bump and in his words "look like I'm smuggling a giant egg" (men eh?) and G's mum actually commented today that it's the first time she has seen me actually with a dinky bump - I got all shy & embarrassed! ha!

Cravings & Weight

- Still totally addicted to Mini Eggs which I feel like I should make the most of because they are sure to disappear after Easter right?

- Also loving Pink Lemonade this week and I hardly ever drink fizzy drinks so that's a little strange. Haven't weighed myself this week and the midwife didn't weigh me either so not too sure but I'll update when I can.

Symptoms

- High Blood Pressure (apparently! I'll get to this in a minute)

- Ligament pains are back with a vengeance, I pretty much can't move from the sofa once I get settled in the evening but G did make me a lovely hot water bottle last night which helped at the bottom of my back.

- Actually feeling a tiny bit sick for one of the first times this morning but I hadn't eaten so I don't think that helped. No actual sickness so still pretty happy.

Appointments

So I went to the midwife last Thursday for my 15 weeks check-up (which had actually become my 16 week check-up). The started off by telling me I will need the glucose intolerance test at 28 weeks because of my BMI, which I expected but am definitely not looking forward to. Then pretty quickly things went downhill. I've actually been seeing the senior midwife along with a junior midwife at each appointment which I don't mind at all, everybody has to learn somewhere, so the junior midwife took my blood pressure manually as the machine wasn't working and then pretty quickly both midwives were freaking out and saying it was exceptionally high for my early stage of pregnancy and that I would probably have to go onto some medication. Now obviously this wouldn't be ideal and I'd rather not have high blood pressure but as long as it is monitored and controlled and isn't going to be an issue to the baby I wasn't too worried.

I then pretty quickly was rushed up to my local hospital without anybody really explaining why I was there or what was going on which naturally scared the hell out of me! In the end I ended up staying in for nearly 3 hours and having my blood pressure taken every 10 minutes during which time every single reading (apart from the very first one when I got there) was completely normal and a good 30-40 less than the midwife had read it at.

To cut a long story short the hospital were happy that my bp is absolutely fine, took some bloods (which also came back fine) and sent me home but I'm now really worrying that my midwife is a little bit retarded and excessively worrying me for no reason, which I really could do without at every appointment from now until my due date.

Has anybody else had bad experiences with their midwife? I know it sounds ridiculous but I'm really worrying she doesn't know what she's doing?

Shopping

I had a lovely day shopping with my mum on Friday & we bought a couple of bits, again I'll try and get a haul post up soon I just haven't had a chance to take all my photos:

- I got a fab maternity tankini for our holiday in June - I'll be nearly 7 months so am assuming I'll have a pretty large bump by then! It was £25 down to £7 in the sale in Mothercare.

- Mothercare changing mat - Grey Stars

- This super cute Sesame Street sleeping bag although we got it from TK Maxx

- Some more short sleeve white baby gros

- A white blanket

- And absolutely most exciting of all - which will definitely be getting it's own post - we bought our Babystyle Oyster 2 Pram

XOXO

Bump update - 15 weeks

Most days I definitely feel like pregnancy is going super super slow and dragging for me personally - really haven't I been pregnant for 3 years already? - but then when I see the title of this post 15 weeks does seem quite far in really! Eeeek!

Bump

To be honest bump is still pretty non-existant, which is definitely making me a bit sad by now. I'm wishing the time away until I actually start to show properly and there won't be any confusion over whether I'm pregnant or not, but I'm sure I'll look back and laugh at this when I'm overdue, swollen and hot with a massive bump all through June, July and August.

The bottom of my tummy is definitely hardening slightly and G says he can see a little bump but I'm not sure.

It's moments like this I definitely regret being a podge before I became pregnant, I'm sure I'd have a neat little bump by now if I was skinny!

No stretchmarks yet and everything is still looking as it did before.

Cravings & Weight

I'm not sure whether I'm actually experiencing any "I must have it right this second or else..." cravings but I'm definitely loving certain things more at the moment, obviously the naughty things that I shouldn't be:

- chocolate....daily! Which I'm not sure is a new thing but me & Squishy certainly get upset if G won't go to the shop and buy us any in the evenings. In particular Mini Eggs!

- tuna melt Panini's from Costa, I don't know why it has to be these particular ones but it just does. I'm trying to lay off these though and restrict the amount of Tuna I'm eating to stick to the recommend.

I've now put on 3.75lbs total so pretty happy with that so far.

Symptoms

Touch wood I know I have been so so lucky but still not a single symptom to really moan about.

- I know I sounds ridiculous because I'm lucky to be in the position that I am where I am only working 2-days a week at the moment - and obviously lots and lots of women work full-time when pregnant - but I'm noticing that I'm exhausted when I come home from a work day. Like can't keep my eyes open tired.

- Ooooh just thought of another one, over the last 2 weeks or so I've been getting bad pains in my lower back and stomach. Nothing unbearable or to worry about (so I'm told) but just like I've pulled all my stomach muscles and it hurts when I try to get up off the sofa or when I sneeze and laugh. I've done some self-diagnosis googling of course and these pains are pretty normal for this stage of pregnancy. Some kind of ligament pains where everything in and round my uterus is just stretching and making way for Squishy.

- I'm also becoming a bit of an acne face which isn't fun. Especially for someone that rarely gets spots usually.

Appointments

Nothing particularly baby related this week. I was meant to see the Midwife for my 15 week check-up but they messed up the appointment booking so I'm actually going towards the end of the week now when I'll be 16 weeks instead.

Shopping

Quote a productive shopping week for Squishy! This week I picked up some serious bargains:

- Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine

- Boots had a great deal on a pack of 6x Tommee Tippee bottles for £12.99 RRP £25.99

- Maxi Cosi Pebble 0+ car seat

- Baby by Chad Valley Deluxe Swing

- Baby Gap also had a mammoth sale and I couldn't resist some more clothes

I'll try & get a post up with all the little bits we've been buying later this week.

XOXO