Pregnancy Fashion & The Next Chapter

So it's been two months since I had Jude and already it feels like I was never pregnant. Anyone who has read my weekly pregnancy blogs or watched my YouTube updates, will remember that I was not someone who enjoyed the whole human growing process despite how much I love the little bundle I got in the end. Hence why it comes as a surprise that I look back at my baby bump pictures with fond memories and think to myself that I would quite happily do it all over again. This is proof that pictures can be misleading and don't always reflect the reality of life!

One of the reasons I blogged throughout my pregnancy, other than to have something nice to look back on, was because I wanted to have the realities my what I went through in black and white. Something to remind myself that I SHOULD NOT and most definitely WILL NOT have any more babies in the near or distant future, regardless of any kind of broodiness that washes over me.

Before I became pregnant, I had already planned how I was going to style myself during a pregnancy and had grand ideas of how, the third time round, I would make a concerted effort to look and feel fabulous from the beginning right through to the delivery. This however went completely out of the window when reality, along with morning sickness and pregnancy related eczema, hit hard. At the beginning, a good day meant I was wearing something, anything, other than pyjamas. In the middle, it was if my were hands not weeping from scratching them through to the flesh. Looking glamorous was far from my mind when just managing to conceal the angry red patches on my face felt like a feat. I was thankful for the the latter stages in my pregnancy, once these symptoms disappeared, that I felt like myself. I had a grace period of about 4 or 5 weeks where I was able to put on a face of make-up, dress up and feel good about myself.

It is pictures from this time that make me think that, for a moment, maybe I do enjoy carrying a baby. There is something so amazing about growing a mini-me in the belly and being able to nurture and protect them from the world they will enter. There is also that empowering feeling of knowing that your mind and body are strong enough to get through a labour and delivery and come out the other side alive!

Being pregnant is such a special time in a woman's life and I am so grateful it is something I got to experience. So whilst I look back at my baby bump pictures with fondness, I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows. I am in fact happy with my lot and am ready for the next chapter, what ever that may be.

I will finish with pictures of my style during pregnancy taken from my Instagram.

Just pregnant  *  12 weeks

Top to Bottom L-R: 

17 weeks   *   23 weeks

25 weeks   *   28 weeks

28 weeks   *   29 weeks

34 weeks   *   34 weeks

37 weeks   *   38 weeks   *   38 weeks

39 weeks

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 38

We are on the home stretch and the end is in sight! Any time now, baby number 3 is going to make an appearance and the excitement is beginning to take over the fear of the birth. I am becoming aware of all the 'lasts' that I am doing now. The last time I will go swimming, the last time I walk down a certain being pregnant, even purchasing my last tub of Cocoa Butter to stop any sneaky stretch marks. Sad I know.

Talking of Cocoa Butter, I must say, I don't think I could have done without my trusted body butter. Having done a previous blog post on moisturising and the different products I have used in this pregnancy, this is my favourite and has definitely worked in preventing stretch marks. (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself). It's so thick and luxurious for the skin that my tummy has never really had the opportunity to become dry. I really would recommend this to any pregnant ladies out there.

I had my 38 week check up the other day and the babies head is still down and is FINALLY engaged! The only thing that wasn't quite as expected was my bump only measuring 35 weeks, which is the first time I have the mention of it being small. It was a different midwife from the one I have had most of my pregnancy so I'm not sure if it's a simple case of different people working slightly differently or the fact that the head is now engaged that makes it appear smaller. She didn't seem concerned though and the baby is still kicking away so hopefully there is nothing to worry about.

Here are couple of bump pictures for this week. I can't believe the belly will be gone soon, despite all my  complaining, I think I may actually miss it (well, a bit anyway).

Hat: PRIMARK

Shirt: RIVER ISLAND

Jeans: ZARA MATERNITY

Boots: ASOS

Bag: TK MAXX

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 37

Full term and ready to go, well almost! Technically everything is all set and baby is fully developed so I could go into labour at any time now. However, despite being uncomfortable at times, I would be quite happy to go right up to my due date. I am conscious of spending quality time with my two children as I know it will be a case of trial and error getting the balance right in looking after three kids,  making sure no one feels left out so I want to make the most of the time I have left as a mother of two. 

Source: Kaitlyn Hibbs Via Pinterest

As it is the school holidays, any kind of exercise, walking or otherwise has gone out of the window and I am starting to think about how my body will be after the birth. The common theme I have noticed with mothers, new and old, is the battle many face to loose their 'mummy tummy' after having a child/children, although this isn't the only area I find affected by pregnancy. As well as the boobs, the bum can go south too and I would like to start tackling this area again now even although I will be giving birth shortly, and what better way to do this than with a good old fashioned squat. The way I see it is, if I begin this squat challenge now, I will be a good portion of the way through it by the time the baby arrives. This way it might not seem so daunting starting from scratch with my whole body in a few weeks time, assuming I have a safe, natural delivery. The great thing about this exercise is that I can brake it up to into two or three sessions to be done during the day once I get further along in the challenge. This means I have no excuse to not complete it as I don't believe anyone can honestly say they don't have five minutes to spare once,twice or three times a day, even if this means squatting whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, dinner to finish cooking or just before bed. At least, even if my tummy doesn't go back to normal, I will have a great looking, perky butt!

My baby changing bag arrived the other day and I absolutely love it so please keep an eye out for a review of that along with some other videos I have planned. 

I shall leave it there and end with my bump pic at 37 weeks. I will hopefully be writing another pregnancy blog next week and not giving birth quite yet. Can you tell I'm stalling?!

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 36

Let the insomnia begin. At this point I am well and truly knackered. Night after night now I find myself lying awake thinking of things I need to do, followed by a couple of trips to the fridge, to feed the baby of course! The most frustrating part is knowing that I should be getting as much sleep as possible right now as in a months time I'll have a beautiful but hungry/dirty/windy/restless bundle of joy keeping me up all hours. On the plus side, the complete silence I get at 3am has allowed me to get more organised for the baby's arrival with the help of my many, handy lists I have created. I love a good old list, don't you?

I have left a lot of things to the last minute but am not stressing as everything will get done although I think I may be taking for granted, the fact my other two arrived around their due date and am assuming this baby will too. That's not always the case and I did have a scare a few days ago when I thought I was in labour, even convincing the husband with my bouncing away on the pilates ball. Thank goodness it was a false alarm and was so relieved when everything calmed down before bed and the bonus is I now have hospital bags packed!

Here is where the magic almost happened :/

As the kids are on their school holidays for the summer, we all marched in one by one for my check-up with the midwife to see if the baby was playing ball and I am happy to report that it is no longer breech. However, the head is not engaged yet which means there is a chance is could still move back so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays put. Please, please, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the weather getting warmer, I am feeling the need for new clothes but I can hardly justify going on a shopping spree for the time I have left although I did buy a couple of dresses in the H&M sale to get me through. I am now focusing my sights on all the things I'll be able to wear in a few weeks. Yay. Topshop, River Island and eBay, watch out.

The belly at 36 weeks

That's about it for this week but keep an eye out for some videos coming up with my baby purchases from the last few weeks.

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Catch Up Weeks 16 &17

Week 16

These last couple of weeks I have noticed the exhaustion returning. I did suffer from fatigue in the very beginning of this pregnancy and maybe the sickness then made me less aware of the tiredness but recently I've felt floored again. Everybody has been saying how they had so much energy in their second trimester, well I'm still waiting!

16wks + 7days

On the up side though my bump is slowly starting to appear. It starts off small in the morning and doubles in size by the evening. I'm used to having a strong abdomen so the strangest part for me is losing my centre of balance. My husband laughs at me struggling to go from lying down to sitting up as he reminds me I still have a long way to go and am only going to get bigger. Oh the joys :)

Week 17

I am ashamed to say that this week I have conformed to such an obvious stereotype in pregnancy, a craving for gherkins. I saw them on television one night and went to buy them the following day. Thinking a small jar would be sufficient was a mistake as they were gone in one sitting. They were followed by subsequent large jars which I have munched on in an evening to stop me from reaching for things from the naughty cupboard.

Cravings aside, I made the decision to slot in some kind of workout into daily life again. Walking has been a great way for me to feel active and listening to up tempo music helps me to keep to a pace that is fast enough to get my heart rate up whilst not being too vigorous at the same time. There are also a couple of channels on Sky TV that airs numerous workout programs that I have recorded and done when I felt like doing something different. This is a great way to workout in the privacy of the living room with variety rather than buying one of the many workout dvd's on the market which I would be likely to do once or twice before getting bored. However it is important that certain movements are adapted to suit the different stages of pregnancy so if anyone is thinking of doing this make sure you know what is safe for you before starting a workout.

xxx