170. Preparing For A Baby - The Nursery

Hello lovelies.

As pregnancy begins to overtake my life with the weeks quickly counting down, I thought I'd introduce a few more baby related posts to my blog. I know that this won't appeal to a lot of my readers but I think an equal amount of you will probably love this sort of thing and, in my experience, I've been reading blog post after blog post about pregnancy and babies, to help me get my head around whats about to ensue.

Today I'm going to share a few snaps of our spare bedroom - a.k.a. "The Nursery" - as preparations are now well underway. 

We purchased this gorgeous white sleighbed-style cot bed from Kiddicare a good few months ago for around £250 (it was on offer at the time). It was our most expensive purchase but it's also crucial and will last our little girl until she's about 3 or 4 years old, so it's a worthwhile investment. S put it up earlier this week and it now feels so much more real that, in just a few months, we will have a little baby here although - admittedly - we probably won't be moving the baby into the nursery until around Christmas time, as we plan to have her sleeping in the Moses basket (which my Mum kindly bought us from Babies R Us) in our bedroom for the first few months.

As I'm pretty inept in the DIY stakes, I decided that whilst S cracked on with the cot, I'd put up some decorations in the bedroom. I ordered these cute alphabet stickers on eBay a couple of weeks ago and I was in my element putting them up around the cot. I also created a cute little display using the adorable woodland stickers that I'd found in Babies R Us. Both sets of stickers came in for under £5 in total.

We also bought our pram at around the same time as the cot bed, but we haven't put it together yet (in fact, it's still in the box!) as it seemed so premature to be getting it out already. I think we spent around £150 on the pushchair and that seems pretty reasonable compared to some that I've seen online and heard other mums talk about. There's no way you'd catch me spending close to a thousand pounds on something that is only going to last a year or two! This is the pram we purchased, I love the cute fox print design.

I'm off to IKEA again to purchase another of these versatile Kallax units. I think they're ideal for storing not only the babies clothes but toys, nappies and books too. The cute canvas boxes are also a brilliant optional extra as they add some colour and personality to an otherwise quite bland storage unit. These are only £20 each and the boxes are around £2.50 each, which I think is a great price. 

As well as all the pretty little things, we've also had to - of course - purchase some more essentials, such as a Baby Monitor from Kiddicare, a baby bath from Babies R Us and a little baby seat from Argos which I'm sure will prove a real help once the baby arrives. 

Of course, the nursery is also jam-packed with the likes of nappies, baby wipes, feeding equipment and the likes, but I thought it'd be fun just to share some of the prettier bits and pieces we've bought so far. We've managed to get just about everything and just have the clothes to get now, which - I think - will be one of the funnest things to buy! 

I'll be doing separate posts on both Baby Clothing and My Intentions to Breastfeed nearer the time. Thank-you for reading!

158. 21 Week Pregnancy Update

I'm now past the halfway stage of my pregnancy! I'm now 21 weeks pregnant which means I'm be closer to the end than the start, which is a nice feeling as I can't wait for this little bean to make an appearance.

Since my announcement one month ago time has really flown by. I feel like once it was out in the open and I was able to talk about it more, the days and weeks merged together and, before I knew it, it was time for our 20 week scan.

Shane and I travelled to Newcastle's RVI hospital last Monday for the scan; both feeling ridiculously excited and, of course, nervous too. I've mentioned before that you go such a long time between scans that, if you don't feel much - or even, any - movements, it can be a scary and tense time, which is how it was for me as I've only felt the odd flutter and kick.. but I'm hoping that they will become much more frequent now. 

We had decided that we wanted to find out the gender of our baby and so we told the sonographer this when she led us in to the ultrasound room. I lay down on my back, got my growing belly out and we got going. It's an incredible feeling when you see your little one pop up on the screen and, even more amazing, when you see it's little heart beating ten to the dozen right in front of you. Words can't even describe, as any mum will know.

Your 20 week scan is also known as your anomaly scan, where the sonographer checks all of the babies vital organs and takes several measurements, to ensure that everything is on track and progressing as it should be. Our sonographer struggled to find one part of the heart initially which meant I had my heart in my mouth for about five minutes but, eventually, she found it and we were able to relax as she reassured us that everything was as it should be. Phewph. 

Now comes the exciting issue of gender. S and I had thought, from our very first scan, that we were having a baby boy, for several reasons. 1) He comes from a family of 4 boys, and his father is one of 5 boys, b) The baby was so stubborn and mischievous at our 12 week scan that we just thought it seemed like a little lad (which I know is so stereotypical, sorry boys!) and we'd even picked out a name; we were that sure.

Oh, how wrong we were. We're expecting a baby girl! I couldn't contain my excitement when this was announced as I've always wanted a little girl, although I would have been equally happy with a baby boy too, of course. And - you never know! -  the scan may be wrong...

So, how have I been feeling lately? Well, I've been very achy and my tiredness that I struggled with in my first trimester has come back with a vengeance which isn't great when I'm facing long days at work and trying to fit in catching up with friends and family too. 

Emotionally, I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't cried for a good few weeks and my snappy temper seems to have toned it down (I'm sure S is thankful for that!). My sleep seems to be improving too and I'm not getting up as many times during the night for the loo either.

My appetite has most definitely increased and I'm really loving marmite on toast and a big glass of cold milk at the minute, although I'm trying to keep my fat intake down - just in case this discomfort does turn out to be gallstones! Urgh. 

There is still no weight gain - in fact, I've lost a couple of pounds in the last week by being poorly - but my tummy has certainly begun to POP and my breasts feel a lot heavier too. 

My baby bump is definitely beginning to make an appearance!

I start my Pregnancy Yoga classes soon and I'm really looking forwards to it as I'll meet other pregnant women and the classes are intended to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as providing you with techniques to use during childbirth, which is something that I'm still trying not to think about just yet! 

In general, I'm feeling pretty good. Everything is still going smoothly and our baby appears healthy. My friends, family and work colleagues continue to be an incredible support and I just can't wait for S and I to be introduced to our little girl.

153. Nursery Inspiration ft. Pinterest

Hello lovelies.

Although S and I intend to sleep with our baby in our bedroom until he/she is around 6 months old, I still can't help but get carried away looking at beautiful nurseries on Pinterest. I've accumulated a good few pins on my Nursery board and I wanted to share some of my favourites with you today!

Source

I love the subtle nautical theme in this nursery. I think that it would be ideal for either a baby boy or girl (I'm really not into that whole pink is only for girls, blue is only for boys thing). The room looks so bright and airy and the cot is very similar to the one we purchased from Kiddicare recently. I love the idea of the rug on the floor as this would be great for to stimulate the baby as it looks like an interesting, soft texture. 

Source

This cute shelving idea really jumped out at me when I spotted it during a Pinterest browse. I think it's a really fun way of disguising boring shelves and it would work in any room, no matter how big or small. I also think it would be fairly easy to recreate!

Source

Although I'm not sure how expensive this would be to run (or whether it would interfere with a babies sleep), it definitely looks amazing and relatively simple. It gives the baby something to look at when its awake in the night or whilst he/she is being fed and just looks so pretty too. I may have to invest in a few packs of fairy lights to do this nearer the time. 

Source

I think these fun postcards would be a fab way of brightening up a plain wall as well as creating something for the little one to look at and - when he/she is older - learn from. Again, it's super easy, as you would only need the cards, some pegs, some string and a way of hanging it all onto the wall. I really love this idea and think it's something I'll definitely do at some point.

Do you have any quirky ideas for decorating a nursery?

Or any great pins that you'd like to share?

150. What is it like being fat AND pregnant?

Being fat is never easy; clothes shopping becomes a pain, society bombards you with guilt-inducing media and comments on a daily basis, doctors tell you that many of your health problems could be fixed if you “lose a bit of weight,” you are judged as lazy, unmotivated, greedy and disgusting... I could go on all day.

So what is it like being fat and pregnant?

Photo credit: www.parentdish.co.uk

When I found out I was pregnant, before I told anybody – including S – I was instantly racked with guilt and worry; I’m too fat to have a baby, I thought to myself. Whenever we, as a couple, had discussed starting a family I’d always said I wouldn’t want to start ‘trying’ until I was a “healthy weight” as I was all too aware that being overweight adds extra risk to the pregnancy, plus I wanted to be able to show off my growing bump without worrying that people might just think I was getting fatter, or that rather than having a beautiful, rounded, protruding bump, my baby bump would simply merge into my pre-existing belly and just look like I was carrying far too much weight. Kind of sad, right? Telling yourself that you can’t have a baby until you’re a desirable, “healthy” size...

I began to research into the risks of being overweight during pregnancy and, quite frankly, scared myself silly. Increased risk of miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, having a large baby, diabetes, the baby being overweight in later life; the lists were endless and they terrified me. For weeks, I had to keep talking myself out of saying “no, we can’t have this baby” – and it almost brings me to tears to think that I thought like that purely because I thought I was too fat to have a baby. 

I made an appointment to see a midwife when I was around 8 weeks pregnant and, despite being incredibly supportive, she again went through all the 'problems' with being overweight during pregnancy and, after I was weighed and my height measured, I was classified as obese and therefore: high risk.

Being high risk means that not only can I not give birth in my local hospital or at home but I have to have specialist consultants with me during the birth, I need extra scans and I am limited in terms of my birthing options. It also sounds terrible, and makes me feel even more nervous about not only the babies health, but mine too. 

However, even with all these odds stacked against me, I've been so lucky so far as nothing has gone wrong. Although I'm only 17 weeks gone and, therefore, still in the early stages I feel so grateful that so far I've not been tested positive for, or suffered from, any of the risks that the midwife and doctor was so worried about. My blood pressure has remained steady and healthy, I haven't piled on the pounds (in fact, I still weigh exactly the same as I did over 3 months ago) and, in general, I feel good. I just hope that it stays like this.

On the other hand, I've started to suffer from stretchmarks. I've had stretchmarks ever since I hit puberty about ten years ago, first appearing on my inner thighs then my breasts and hips as I grew, later on as I gained weight a few of them appeared on my stomach and even faint ones on my upper arms, but when I noticed a few new marks on my stomach a couple of days ago, I almost cried (but then felt ridiculous and almost selfish for doing so.)

I'm so relieved that this is the only issue I've had so far. I'm trying not to let the cosmetic 'imperfections' bother me and focus on mine and the babies health, and I'll keep you all update throughout my pregnancy. I have my 20 week scan in just under three weeks so I'll be sharing a little bit more with you then!