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: Week 34 Breech Baby?!

This week I had a routine check-up with the midwife. She asked all the usual questions, am I feeling ok, is the baby moving etc, then took my blood pressure. All good. When it came to having a feel of my tummy to work out what body parts were where, it appeared that the baby wasn't head down yet. She explained that whilst it isn't unusual for babies to be breech at this stage, she would still like to see me at 36 weeks instead of the normal 38 week check up. That way, if there hasn't been any change, plans would need to be made for another scan and possibly a c-section.

Now at this point, it is only a possibility, however I have never had the mention of this with my previous two pregnancies so the idea of it this time has me freaked out.

To be clear, I am not someone who believes delivering a baby should be done any one way as the main priority is the safety of mother and baby. Plus no one gets a medal for doing it cave man style and your child will not thank you any more so for doing it au naturel. The problem is that my mind runs over time and the thought of something becomes a lot worse than the reality.

Yes the baby can still turn but what if it doesn't?  What if I have to be awake (albeit pain free) and get cut open? How will I react to not feeling my legs? How sore will it be afterwards? What if my stitches burst open? You see where I'm going with this. This list of questions in my head goes on forever despite the fact the I know if the times does come, the worst probably won't happen and I won't care about any of it as long as I have a healthy baby.

There are many pros and cons to both natural and c-section deliveries, however other than the pain of a natural delivery (it hurts bad!), the recovery time is minimal versus an operation. I am aware that thousands of women every day have sections, whether they choose to or not, and it all works out fine. For me,  it will just take a bit of time to get my head around the idea that it could happen and deal with it. I simply need to stop thinking, it shouldn't really be that hard for me at the moment as my brain doesn't seem to retaining anything just now anyway. Get a grip woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of the bump that is causing me this worry.

Something else which has been keeping me awake at night, is the start of Restless Leg Syndrome. Described as the urge to move your legs to relieve crawling, tingling or burning sensations it can be common in later pregnancy and unfortunately there isn't a whole lot that can be done. I have had it for a couple of weeks now but seems to be getting worse. Despite its name, I get it mainly in my feet and hands and find that running them under cold water can help sometimes. Thank goodness I only have about 5 weeks as its driving me crazy. 

That's about all for this week, lets see what week 35 has to offer.

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 31 Moisturising

So this has been another slow week in terms of progress however I have noticed my belly is getting bigger, at a faster rate now. 

31 Weeks

For this reason I have increased my moisturising routine to help fend off the those dreaded stretchmarks! I had started moisturising my tummy regularly at around 17 weeks when I felt my waistline was starting to expand and would do this twice a day, applying something in the morning and before I go to bed at night. Fast forward to 31 weeks where my tummy seems to be stretching more and more each day and I have begun slapping on the nearest lotion or potion to hand during the day as well, just to make sure my skin doesn't have a chance to become the slightest bit dry. Even if I am exhausted and can't bring myself to remove my make-up before hitting the pillow, I always make sure to tackle my tummy.

It is thought that stretch marks are hereditary and that if you are going to get them then there isn't much you can do about it. This is where I guess I take after my mum, as she didn't get them with her two pregnancies, there fore I have been more or less lucky, other than a couple of tiny purple slivers on my side/back that one one else would even notice. That being said, I do think (in my case at least) that constantly moisturising has helped, as I do have other stretch marks on my thighs where I gained weight quickly in my late teens when moisturing was at the bottom of my list to do list. So I would say regardless of how your skin is behaving in pregnancy it is important to pamper the belly whilst you have it.

These are some of the products I have been using depending how my skin has been on any given day. My favourite would have to be the Palmers Cocoa Butter as I love the smell of it. Whilst the Johnson's Baby Oil, is nothing special, I do like to lather it on just before I get out of the shower to lock moisture into my skin before I get dry and apply a moisturiser afterwards.

Sweet Almond Oil * Aveeno Moisturiser * Palmers Cocoa Butter * Johnson's Baby Oil * Garnier Intensive

If I am wanting something a bit lighter, I use a combination of the oils below to make sure the job gets done, also making sure to do my sides, back and not forgetting the boobs, bum and thighs as the bump isn't the only part that grows in pregnancy!

Sweet Almond Oil * Extra Virgin Olive Oil * Jojoba Oil

Now some of you may be thinking 'but olive oil is for cooking with', and I thought the same thing when people were first telling me to use it on my daughters afro hair. Since then, I have been surprised to learn about different kinds of products that we assume are for one thing only, when in fact they have a lot of other benefits too.

I like to mix them together in equal parts in a bottle which makes for easy application. I find the smell of the Sweet Almond Oil and Jojoba Oils counteract the smell of the Oilve Oil, however you can add a drop or two of Lavender Oil if the smell is bothering you.

I don't know that there is one moisturiser, oil or concoction that has the ability to work better than any other so it really is a case of seeing what works best for you. And I truly believe that an expensive lotion will work no better than a cheaper one as long you are lubricating your skin. If stretch marks are going to rear their ugly head, they will do so regardless of how pretty the packaging or how much you have spent.

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 30 (Prenatal Listening System Review)

There has been no real changes to report this week so I thought I would review the Prenatal Listening System which my mum kindly bought for me. It is not something I would have purchased myself as it isn't a necessity in pregnancy however, since I was given it, I thought it would be fun to try out with the kids as a way of including them in their new siblings journey. 

The instructions suggest using it from 28 weeks to ensure there is a strong enough heartbeat, so as not to panic a mum to be who may not hear something in the earlier weeks of pregnancy.

It comes with two sets of ear phones and a band which you fix the monitor onto so it can be strapped to your tummy. It is pretty self explanatory when it comes to working the device.

Was it as good as I expected it to be? Disappointingly, no.

I thought it would sound similar to what I hear when the midwife listens for the baby's heartbeat at my regular check ups. However instead it sounds like a very faint drum beat which I can just about make out and I can tell the kids can barely make sense of what they are hearing, if at all. That being said, they still ask if they can listen in on the baby every couple of days so I think the idea of hearing the baby is exciting enough for them and makes them feel like they are part of what is going on in mummy's tummy.

Would I buy it myself? Quite simply, the answer is no.

Having read other reviews on it only reiterates the problem of poor sound quality, which some mothers may find distressing if they think they can't find their baby's heartbeat. Depending where you buy, it retails at around £24.99 (£12.99 in TK MAXX), it hardly breaks the bank although I think the money could be better spent on something else.

Has anyone else tried using one of these? What were your thoughts on the device? I would love to know. 

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 29

As someone who has been fond of piercings over the years, other than my ears, the only one I refuse to say goodbye to is my belly button piercing. Not because I want to show it of in mid-riff bearing clothes but more so because I think it distracts from the shape of belly button I have been left with after two children. I used to love what I call my full moon belly button which was perfectly round and formed but found that while my stomach returned to normal after both pregnancies my belly button did not do the same and was left with what I now call my half moon. Fast forward to pregnancy number three as my innie has become an outie and am no longer able to wear my belly bar. There are large flexible ones you can buy for pregnancy but am scared it would catch on something so am just putting in my normal bar every couple of days for a few minutes. I find that if I don't do this it starts to close up and really don't want to have to get it redone once I've had the baby. The older I get, the less tolerant I am to pain!

Talking of pain, I had my whooping cough jab this week. Whilst the jab itself wasn't sore, by the end of the day my arm was killing me, with it hurting to lift away from my side or lying on whilst sleeping. So a word of warning, if you choose to have this done (its usually between 28 & 32 weeks pregnant I think) make sure it's done in the arm you use the least.

I also thought I would share some pics of the pram I ordered last week. In the end I went for the Bugaboo Cameleon3 with a silver chassis, black base and the hood/apron in petrol blue. The name petrol blue initially put me off the colour especially when looking at the samples but when you see it on the pram it actually looks more of a turquoise, teal colour which I thought would be nice with either pink or grey accessories depending on the sex of the baby.

Image credit: Polyvore

I took inspiration for my colours from this swatch on pinterest and have decided on the pink or greys with pastel tones to add some colour to white baby furniture I want to get.

After 7 months of looking at prams this is what I went for

After much deliberating I ended up choosing the Maxi Cosi Pebble car seat (on the right) in the colour Graphic Crystal (on the left). 

Thats it for this week. Keep an eye out for my next Pregnacy Diaries Vlog on YouTube. Here is my first ever one from last week if you missed it.

xxx

Pregnancy Diaries: Week 28 - 3rd Trimester!???

We are officially in the third trimester... I think! If you look on line you will find differing opinions on when the third trimester actually begins. Some say it's anywhere between 25-28 weeks and others state around 27-29 weeks pregnant. I'm going with 28 weeks, not that it matters a great deal.

The tummy is starting to get in the way is week. Bending down to put on socks and shoes can be tricky as by the time I lean forward, boobs rest on the belly, belly on the thighs, there is no where left to go. So rather than go to the feet, I bring the feet up to me when sitting down, sooo much easier! I have also begun belly bashing my way around with me mis-judging spaces I have to squeeze through versus the actual size of my ever expanding middle. I'm getting good at apologising for bumping into people, telling them it wasn't me, it was the belly honestly. Life was so much easier when I had a waist!

28 weeks

I had a routine appointment for a check up with the midwife and all was fine until it came to getting blood taken. It was going well until she accidentally pulled out the needle before she got enough blood so began again. Nothing was coming out despite, and I quote my 'beautiful veins' (there are other things I'd rather be praised for but hey). All in all it took five attempts before the job was done by which point I was left feeling a bit like a pin cushion. Good job I don't have a phobia of needles.

On a more pleasant note, an exciting part of this week was ordering my pram. I won't go into detail now as I may do a separate post on that but it was the first step in making the baby's arrival a reality, scary stuff!

That's all for now. xxx