166. 24 Week Pregnancy Update

Hello lovelies.

I'm now well into my 24th week of pregnancy, and it's now just 16 weeks until this baby is due to make her much anticipated appearance. It's all starting to feel very real and different, so I thought I'd share a quick update, before I come into my third (and final) trimester in a couple of weeks.

So, how do I feel?

I feel very much the same as I did a few weeks ago; my backache is persistent and constant but I'm just so used to it now that it doesn't affect me as much, but I can only imagine it'll get worse and worse. Energy wise, I don't feel too different to normal at the moment but, by the end of the day, I'm so ready for bed. I'm managing to balance work and a social life and time for myself though; I'm trying to make the most of having time to myself before the baby arrives. 

How do I look?

I've gained a couple of pounds in the last fortnight and I'm now 1lb over my start weight which doesn't sound like much, but I can really see the difference. My tummy is definitely more rounded and people are beginning to notice it. My skin flared up quite badly a week or so ago, but that seems to be getting back under control. I've noticed that my nails are quite flaky which is a shame as I was expecting them to be super strong and gorgeous, but apparently it can go either way!

My bump isn't particularly obvious when I'm wearing dresses but in tight clothing it's definitely prominent, although I'm still at the stage where I just look like I've eaten a bit too much! o.O

Are we prepared yet?

It still hasn't quite sunk in that in a few months it will no longer be just me and S, but me, S and our baby girl. I think that from now on it really will start to sink in as I'm beginning to show, and we've bought the majority of what we needed for our baby. I'll do a post in a few weeks to show the bits and pieces that we've picked up so far, and then a clothes post nearer the time - I love having a snoop at what people have been buying, so maybe you will too!

Have I had any weird cravings?

This is the question I've been asked most during my pregnancy. Almost every day someone asks me if there's anything odd that I've been wanting and the truth is: no. I feel almost disappointed that I haven't been craving coal or crisps with chocolate sauce or something else bizarre, but I've been pretty content with cold milk, marmite on toast and chip shop chips, oh and a lot of chocolate.

I've been trying to eat fairly healthily, partcularily at lunchtime, but the evenings are toughest as I'm always tempted to go for chocolate or ice cream rather than fruit!

Other...

I had my GTT (glucose tolerance test) on Monday which is used to diagnose whether or not gestational diabetes has developed during pregnancy, it's usually tested between 24-28 weeks if you're overweight, have a family history of diabetes, have had diabetes in a previous pregnancy or are of a certain ethnicity. It involves fasting overnight then having your bloods taken, drinking a sugary drink and waiting two hours before having your bloods taken again. I'm yet to hear back from the hospital about my results (they stressed that it could take up to two weeks) but I'm feeling hopeful that I don't have diabetes, although if I do it's not the end of the world at all, apparently it affects almost 20% of pregnant women in the UK.

At my 24 week midwife check up, the midwife measured my bump for the first time and said the baby is lying oblique (apparently this means diagonally, with her head in my hip and her feet towards my ribs on the other side) and measuring at 26 weeks; meaning she's either a big'un, has just had a growth spurt or my due date isn't quite right. It's good to know that she's growing though and I'm sure she has just had a big spurt as a couple of weeks ago I wasn't feeling her moving every day, but now I do and S has even felt her move with his hand on my belly, which was pretty amazing. 

This week I also had to book in for my antenatal classes which seemed a bit mad, as they're not until May, but I'm genuinely really excited to get started with them. I've signed up to the breastfeeding class, a couple of Birth & Beyond workshops which aim to prepare you for once the baby arrives, and a class about birthing ideas. I guess I can't put off thinking about labour any longer!

165. Welcome To Our New Home

Hello lovelies.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, or read my Sunday Summary, will know (and no doubt be bored to death by the fact that) I moved into a new flat with my boyfriend last Monday. We'd been living in our old place for six months but, with a baby on the way, we'd realised it was just too small, the location wasn't ideal as it was at the bottom of a killer hill (it takes about 2 minutes but I swear it's like 90 degrees!) which I had to walk up twice a day to work, and the flat was littered with damp. So, yeah, not ideal. 

After a couple of months of searching, we found a gorgeous terraced, ground floor flat in a more central location and - thankfully! - passed our credit checks and were accepted. The next few weeks were spent frantically packing and cleaning up the flat, as well as swapping over all our bills and informing everyone of our new address (seriously that's the worst bit... who knew you needed to tell so many people/businesses!?). Finally, "Moving Day" arrived and my wonderful mum and dad helped us out immensely by transporting all our belongings to our new flat. 

We've now been in for a week and are feeling so incredibly settled and 'at home', I can truly see us being here for years; it's just perfect for us. I thought I'd share a few quick snaps of the place, just in case any of you are as nosey as I am!

Our living area is pretty open plan with a wide hallway leading from the front door into the living, dining and cooking areas. We managed to pick up a leather sofa bed which - near enough - matched our current sofa and armchair online, as well as this gorgeous dining table from a friend, and a few bits and bobs from the legendary IKEA. I really love the living and dining areas as they feel so cosy and the (working!) open fire adds a touch of history too. 

Our bedroom may as well be renamed as a butterfly sanctuary as I've carried the butterfly theme on from our last flat too. It's a bit weird as I actually really don't like butterflies, or anything that flies in fact, but I think they're so pretty. The bedroom is fairly small and as we have a huge cot to go in, we've not been able to fit much in, but I think it's a nice, relaxing space. The bedspread was from Homebase and everything else came with us from our previous flat.

Although the kitchen remains quite small, it's a vast improvement on our old kitchen which was tiny and only had about three cupboards. We're actually struggling to fill the cupboards now as there are so many! It's a compact enough space to keep clean, but big enough that we can prepare meals for several people, and keep all our appliances within arms reach.

Ignore the jam-packed laundry basket in this photo, please! The bathroom is so spacious and light, it's perfect as - once our baby girl arrives - there is now space for her to sit in her bouncer on the floor whilst I'm in the bath, without any risk of me standing on her (which would definitely have happened in our old flat!). There is also lots of cupboard space which is ideal for my hoard of bath products. 

This is the spare bedroom/nursery-to-be which currently acts as a dressing room for S and I, as we don't currently have space in our bedroom for a chest of drawers or wardrobe. In time, she will have this room as her own so we're planning on moving the wardrobe into our bedroom in place of the cot, and this will give her plenty of room for playing and crawling practice, once she's old enough. I can't wait to decorate the walls with stickers, pictures and get lots of interesting textures and colours incorporated into the room for her.

We also have a small, enclosed yard to the rear of the property but, seriously, how do you get a good photograph of a yard?! Can anybody tell me? We're yet to spruce the place up as the weather has been so dismal that there seems little point in potting plants or investing in a table and chairs, but I can't wait until the summer when we can make the most of it.

So, what do you think of our new place?

Do you have a post sharing some photos of your home? 

If so, let me know in the comments as I'm always looking for interiors inspiration!

164. Sunday Summary

Hello lovelies.

Can you believe that's another month over and done with? February is finished and March has arrived. This year is going incredibly (and scarily) fast; March marks my seventh month in my 'new job' and just 16 weeks until our baby girl is due to make an appearance. Before we know it it'll be Christmas again!

I'm writing today's post from my lovely new flat, which we moved into on Monday - remind me never to move house again when pregnant, it is a nightmare. As Monday was taken up mainly by packing up the remainder of our previous flats contents, lugging boxes around and putting together flat-pack furniture, I ended up in bed by about 10pm, flat out with horrendous backache. That'll teach me.

Tuesday was a more enjoyable, but equally tiring day, as my Dad and I headed over to IKEA for some retail therapy. I ended up spending a small fortune on some gorgeous new bits and pieces for the flat, before treating myself to a McDonalds and heading home where we continued to put together flat pack, and then relaxed with a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul.

The best day of the week by far was Wednesday when I visited a couple of friends, Carys and Hannah, in Newcastle for a catch up, accompanied by copious amounts of tea and cake, including some delicious brownies from Newcastle's very own The Brownie Bar. Now you know why that was the best day of the week! Even missing two trains on the way home couldn't dampen my spirits.

Me & the gorgeous Carys post delicious gluten free cake

Thursday was spent chilling in the new house and finishing off unpacking our books, DVDs and clothes into the new storage furniture. It wasn't much fun but I'm so pleased it's done as the place really feels like home now.

Lemon Meringue brownie from The Brownie Bar

Friday meant I was back to work but thankfully the day went quickly and smoothly and S and I spent the evening baking sticky toffee pudding, coconut and lime cake and - as always - relaxing. It was Friday night when I felt the baby move the most I've ever felt before too, which was literally breath taking. I think she was turning around as the movements went on for about fifteen minutes and were so strong that I could physically see my stomach move, as well as feel it with my hand. Incredible.

Once work was over on Saturday, S's mum and her boyfriend came over for the night. We were joined by one of S's brothers and his girlfriend too, so we had a few hours of watching tele and walking the dogs before S, his mum, her boyfriend and I settled in for an evening of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, The Jonathan Ross Show and a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs each. It was, in my eyes, the perfect way to spend our first Saturday night in the flat.

Today started with a bubble bath, followed by a full English cooked by S, as we all played Rayman on the Xbox (don't ask...). Once they'd left, we began cooking a Sunday dinner for S's dad and grandma, which we all really enjoyed. It's been so nice having people round to visit and see the new place, we're so proud of how we've got it looking in such a short space of time, and it's a much more sociable space for us to enjoy with our family and friends. 

This Week On The Blog:

I wrote about mental health issues in students in partnership with The Priory

Next Week On The Blog:

A sneaky peek at our new flat

My 24 week pregnancy update