Recap from 30 weeks and 31 weeks

 

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a challenge, and I feel very lucky to have the little challenges that I have faced as there are worst things that can happen in pregnancy.

Over the last couple of weeks I have really struggled with my breathing, I am asthmatic and originally thought this was exactly what was wrong. I was sitting in work and felt as though something was sitting above my chest, it was so tight and just like with my asthma when I panic it got worse. So I got a last minute appointment at my doctors surgery, they could only give me one with a nurse who ended up having to get a doctor in to advise. He did all the tests checking my peak flow, listened to my chest, he couldn’t really give me an answer. This was all on a Monday so he said to go home and if I felt I was not any better then I was to go back to Wednesday. They said I may need a short course of steroids but because I was pregnant he did not really want to do that.

So I went home and worried about what was going to happen, simply going up the stairs or a short five minute walk was exhausting me. Sitting at my desk most of the day was hurting my hips and back to the stage I was either crying in the toilet on my lunch break or as soon as I reached my car at the end of the day. So by Wednesday I needed an answer. Trying to get an appointment wasn’t the easiest as apparently they have no doctors until late afternoon in surgery, which made me wonder why he even asked me to go back on a Wednesday but anyway I ended up seeing the locum and she was incredible. She put my mind at rest she checked my blood pressure, oxygen levels, checked my temperature, listened to babys heartbeat, and checked what position she was in. The only thing she could think of was that although my iron levels were fine they were 15 off of the average so she has given me a course of iron tablets. I was to take a week off work to see how I felt and she advised that if after a week off I was feeling better then not to go back to work and take maternity leave early. Of course I then decided after week off to go back to work because I really didn’t want to take maternity leave early, which I have chosen to do anyway, 8 weeks until due date so very early but I am looking forward to relaxing and getting prepared for our little one arriving.

Since taking everything at a slower pace I have felt much better, so I just have three more shifts at work left to get through.

Baby is developing well, I love seeing my bump grow, although I do feel like I am getting more stretch marks that I would like but at least I know it is because she is growing and developing ready for her arrival!

 

P.S. I did eventually get the whooping cough vaccine, a post to come on that!

How far along: Today I am exactly 32 weeks
Next appointment: Wednesday the 13th of April
Exercise: Last Monday I had my last yoga class, so have been practicing what I learned in class at home
Maternity clothes: I got a new maternity bra from bravissimo as mine was getting far too tight
Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? We received a large bag of knitted baby clothes from baby’s nan and I tough a thermometer for the bath from Tesco
Sleep: Mostly I have been sleeping well, but I have found it a struggle since the clocks going forward to get to sleep early
Food cravings: At the weekend I had a huge craving for chips and cheese, that I ended up behaving like a two year old having a tantrum
Food aversions: nothing
Symptoms: Restricted breathing
What I’m looking forward to: Going on maternity leave and getting to focus on bump and I
Best moment this week: Feeling her kicks get

Hospital Bag Planning!

It’s getting closer to that time (9 weeks, 2 days to be exact) when I am itching to pack my hospital bag even more than usual but I have realised I needto know exactly what I need to get for it so here is my list. If there is anything you would recommend please do let me know 🙂

For me:

• Maternity Pads
• Breast Pads – I have a bought of superdrug ones, tommee tippee ones I got with my breast pump and at the mothercare event, but I plan on getting the Lansinoh ones too as heard such great things about them
• Lansinoh nipple cream
• 1 pack of cotton briefs that I can dispose of
• 1 pack of disposable pants just in case
• 2x nightdresses
• 2x nursing/button up pyjamas
• a lightweight dressing down
• warm socks and/or slippers
• iPod with hypnobirthing soundtrack
• iPad for entertainment purposes & iPhone & charger
• flipflops for shower
• large fluffy towel & facecloth
• Nivea travel set of toiletries this includes: facewipes, lipbalm, deodorant, mouisturiser
• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Hair brush, hair bobbles and kirby grips
• Massage oil
• Mini hand held fan
• Water spray
• Nursing bras
• Support Pillow
• Going home outfit – undecided but will be something very comfy
• Drinks & snacks
• Change for car park & hospital if needed

 

For baby:

• A pack of nappies
• A pack of waterwipes
• Cotton wool balls
• Nappy bags
• I have a little toiletry set by johnsons for newborns with nappy cream & wash if allowed to use/needed & a changing mat, I thought would be useful for the hospital
• Teddy
• Blanket
• 2x swaddles
• 4x sleepsuits in both newborn & 0-3 month sizes
• 2x going home sets one in newborn size and one in 0-3 months, both have matching hats, vests, sleepsuits, bibs and one even has a blanket and cardigan. These outfits are undecided but I think they will be the ones we go for.
• Mitts
• A pack of muslin cloths
• Car seat

 

Snacks & Drinks are still undecided but will definitely include:

• Small sport size bottles of water
• Lucozade sport drinks
• Cereal bars – probably my favourite of nutrigrain elevenses
• Chocolate covered raisins – if my obsession with them continues

 

When my bag is actually packed I will do a further blog post, possibly a vlog

X

Very.co.uk Baby Girl Haul

During our binge of baby buying we placed a large order with Very. I love Very because it’s one of the few websites that offer click & collect, which is so much easier for us. Waiting in for parcels or having to go to out to depots to collect is not convenient, so click & collecting at my local store five minutes away is ideal. All of the photos I have used in this post are from their website simply because we are still waiting on items to be delivered and if they have been they are mostly still in their packaging.

In our order we got a set of the summer infant mega muslin clothes, these come as a 3 pack and we went for pink since we are expecting a girl, these are beautiful and lovely quality. These are going to be great when feeding because of the size.

We also got a set of the swaddle me muslin clothes which again come as a pack of three, these will be used for feeding, although they can be used to swaddle baby.

However I preferred these for swaddling. These are the Original SwaddleMe set and come as a 3 Pack. They come in lots of different colours, but I could not resist the whale print in this set. I mostly plan to use the sleeping bags but I got these to have in case, as I have heard good things about them settling babies with colic, babies either love them or hate them so I have just bought this 3 pack to test out.

I went for this Lindam Nursery Nightlight Set, because I like that there are two. I can put one in the hall as well as the nursery, one you have to put on and off at the plug, and one is automatic so when its light the light goes off and comes back on in the dark, which is handy because I am really forgetful and can only imagine that will get worse when I have a newborn.

I feel like this is essential for feeding the widgey Star Nursing Pillow, I love this particular one because of the star print, it matches my mamas and papas pregnancy pillow you can see in my mamas and papas haul post here which I plan on having on my nursing seat for back support for me.

We went through so many choices of bath seats and baths before my husband made the decision and went for this one it is the angelcare soft-touch bath support in pink, it does also come in blue. It has great reviews for little ones especially for slippery newborns.

I got this simply because I adore it. Mamas & Papas Millie and Boris dress sleeping bag 0-6 months. This is very much a just because item I got simply because I am having a girl and think it is so cute, I plan to use this in the next2me crib.

With clothing this is all we have got so far apart from a gorgeous set from TKMAXX (not pictured in post). This is just to get us started and people have also been buying us clothes already. There are so many clothing items I want but because I am unsure of babies size I would prefer to get things when she arrives, so these will get us started anyway.

We went for this Baby terry towelling robe in 0-3 months, this is going to be lovely for after bath times, and its little bear hood makes it super cute.

 

This is a two pack of bear hooded towels, again just because a normal towel isn’t cute enough!!

Baby girls five pack of bodysuits in 0-3 months

 

Baby girls 2 pack of princess sleep-suits in 0-3 months

 

Baby girls floral & Bunny rompers in 0-3 months

 

Baby Unisex 4 pack bandana Bibs

 

A four piece set in newborn this is by mamas and papas 

 

mamas and papas printed blouse all in one 0-3 months

 

3 pack of sleep suits in 0-3 months

 

3 pack of bunny sleep-suits in newborn

 

This is one of my favourite items the summer infant slumber buddies toy. I cannot wait to use this in our bedroom to hopefully settle her at sleep time, I want to use it for myself already its beautiful.

A baby carrier is really important to us because we have two dogs so dog walking will be far easier without a pram. We went for this one the Maxi Cosi Easia 2 way Baby Carrier in black denim,  I looked around but I found this one to be more to both of our style and is fantastic quality.

 

This is kind of another luxury item, the Ladybird Gliding Nursing Chair. I do plan to breastfeed and I want to have somewhere I can go to feed away from the dogs, and especially in the night feeds away from my husband, as I wont be working I would prefer not to disturb his sleep. I really like this one, I like the colour and it is very comfy.

The Munchkin Day and Night Musical car mirror, is great it comes with a little button so we can operate the light and music from the front of the car. I think in the dark evenings the light will be perfect so we can keep a check on her.

Ladybird 2 pack of cot bed sheets in cream, again just to get us started.

Clair de lune Printed Pram/Crib Sheets – Stars in pink, I have got these in hope that they fit the next2me crib, if not they will be getting used for the carry cot part of the pram.

 
Mamas & Papas Duo Chime Set we got these as extra toys to match her nursery theme, they are super soft and super cute.

This is my favourite item so far, the Babybeau Isabelle changing bag. The quality is amazing, and I cannot wait to use this!! I found choosing a changing bag to be ridiculously hard and this is definitely more than I would really like to spend on a changing bag but I like that it can be used as an actual bag as well so will be getting the use out of it. I mentioned this in a previous post here

This is simply a getting us started set, it is the deluxe nurseru and bath kit by Summer. This is a great price and getting all the essential basics was going to cost far more.

Finally the Munchkin nappy changing organiser. We do not have much room in the nursery as it is just a box room, so this being on the side of the changing table to keep all the nappy changing essentials is going to be perfect

 

I love all the items we purchased from Very, they are all great quality and we purchased them at a great price too, her nursery is starting to come together with all of her little items. Roll on may for her arrival ❤

 

Disclaimer: I purchased these with my own Very account, very have in no way contacted me to review purchases.

My Private Gender Scan with Ultra Sound Direct

So back in December we (mostly I) got impatient waiting for January to arrive for our scan to check baby was ok and to find out her gender. I had bad anxiety in early pregnancy and spent a lot of the time worrying if everything was ok. As an early birthday present my husband agreed to us having a private scan on the 17/12/15. If you have never had a private scan before I cannot recommend the experience enough, we went with Ultrasound Direct with their Belfast clinic for a just gender scan.

When we arrived we filled out an agreement form and then we were taken straight through for our scan. I lay up on the bed while my husband sat in a big comfy leather arm chair beside me. The scan was so different than our 12 week one, instead of trying to see on a tiny screen we watched our baby on a large widescreen tv on the wall in front of us! The sonographer was amazing and she took us through what we were seeing, before getting down to gender we were given a printout of what we were looking for. I was convinced we were having a boy so I was looking out little boy parts. The lady was very thorough and checked a few times going back over other body parts and then again back to confirm we were having a girl!! We were delighted, what I loved about the private scan is that it felt like baby bonding time, we were not rushed, we got to enjoy seeing our baby in detail and we got LOTS of photos of baby along with one showing it was a little girl.

Our just gender scan was £39 which I felt was well worth it, and it meant we got to go and spend Christmas with out family and announce we were having a little girl. Which was then confirmed at the end of January with our NHS scan. It really was a special time and I left feeling a lot more relaxed and less anxious about how my baby was doing as we saw her moving around and her heart beat was nice and clear.

The staff could not have been nicer and the environment was very relaxing, so if you are considering a private scan definitely check out ultrasound direct, they have clinics throughout the UK and offer a range of scans at a great price. I would love to have a 4D scan before baby arrives so we will see what happens in the next few weeks.

I hope you found this helpful if you are considering whether to have an early scan or not, or even just if a private scan is worth it.

Samantha x

 

 

29 weeks 2 days Pregnancy update!!

Wow this pregnancy really is flying in!!

I would love to share that the third trimester is being kind to me, but I feel as though I am back in the first trimester with all the horrible symptoms sides of things. This week as well I gave the house a spring clean, and ended up doing too much that I had to leave work early on Monday for a nap and plenty of rest. I managed to convince myself as well that I was not feeling baby as I normally would and almost ended up at the hospital but after increasing my calories and resting it made a huge difference.

I am sooooo ready to meet this little one now, 10 weeks and 5 days until due date, I am getting very excited although I am starting to get slightly nervous now of what is to come so I have been doing extra practice of what I am learning in my yoga classes. I have also been listening to my hypnobirthing app every night before sleep to help relax me and I know that even if I fall asleep everything is sinking in to my unconsciousness. If you do not have any hypnobirthing playlists or apps I really recommend them, they are lovely to listen to while having some you and bump time and make you feel more confident about birthing your child.

How far along: 29 weeks 2 days
Next appointment: 23rd of March 2016
Exercise: I have now completed four weeks of my daisy foundation birthing yoga classes out of the six week course. I have also been walking more due to not having a car and having two dogs to walk daily
Maternity clothes: Not bought anything new again this week, but I have started looking into nursing clothes as I plan to breastfeed, if you have any brand recommendations please do comment below!!
Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? I was given a couple of story books at work, these have been put in her nursery.
Sleep: Not sleeping as well, waking up with nausea and needing the toilet.
Food cravings: None
Food aversions: None
Symptoms: I feel like I am back in the first trimester this week with nausea, light headedness, feeling really hot and travel sickness is back!! Also back ache has started, and if I do too much I get pelvic pain.
What I’m looking forward to: Getting to spend time with my husband who works away a lot and having him see the difference in bump’s growth and feel her even stronger kicks.
Best moment this week: Getting the all clear from last weeks blood tests so I know everything is going ok with baby.

If there is anything you would like to read in these weekly updates please do comment below 🙂

Mothers Day when expecting

This Mother’s Day has felt extra special waking up with little one kicking away, reminding me I will soon be a mum to a little human and not just to my dogs.

Mother’s Day means different things to different people, some mummy’s feel like they deserve to be spoiled and looked after. I however feel like although this is lovely, mothers days a day to be thankful for your children. I cannot want to enjoy my daughter next year and everything special that she is going to bring to my life.

I spent today visualising what my little princess will be like, coming up with more name ideas, talking to her, stroking my bump and listening to my positive birthing affirmations. I know the day she chooses to arrive in the next couple of months is going to be the most incredible day and I cannot wait to meet her.

I already adore her she is already the most precious thing in our world ❤️

I hope you are ready for lots of cuddles and kisses little one xxx

28 weeks 4 days pregnancy update

Officially in my THIRD trimester!!!

This is a very late post this week, I have been meaning to write but life has sort of got in the way this week and I haven’t really found the time. Have felt slightly stressed this week so I think that has added to it.

This week I had my 28 week appointment, which I had been dreading as I knew it was going to mean getting a blood test, and I have a terrible needle phobia. My appointment was at 10am so I spent my morning having a relaxing bath, with a relaxation candle lit and used radox relax shower gel. The whole morning I listened to the relaxation music part of an audio app I have. When I got to the appointment my usual midwife was off so I had a new girl and her student midwife. Thankfully they could not have been nicer to me.

I thought the worst part was going to be me being brave enough but it actually was that they couldn’t find a vein and they didn’t want to just take the blood if they were not sure. However after about 20 minutes we got there with a butterfly needle. I was so impressed this time with how I handled it, I think it’s easier when you can feel your baby kicking and you know you need to it for them. The pictures below are right round my arm, she used the blood pressure slieve really tight to make sure my vein didn’t disappear, I did say my arm was going numb….

After that I had to go to the dentist to get a filling, ever since I have been pregnant I have had issues with my teeth, my dentist says this is normal but its really frustrating when you have a needle phobia. However I have a lovely dentist and it wasn’t so bad. I lay there and listened to my hypnobirthing audio which helped relax me. It’s made me realise how useful it is going to be in labour so I will be packing my iPod in my hospital bag with it ready to go.

Along with these appointments my dog had the vet and came home with a load of medication for his allergies, thankfully he happily takes tablets! My car is not working properly and I went five days without any contact with my husband due to his work. It really has been one of those weeks, but I am feeling super excited for the week ahead. I cannot believe that in just over 11 weeks we will be at my due date and that next month I go on maternity leave!! This pregnancy really is flying in 🙂

So here are the facts this week…

How far along: 28 weeks 4 days
Next appointment: 23rd of March 2016
Exercise: Daisy foundation yoga classes and extra walking this week as I am having car troubles!! Thank goodness our new car is getting picked up this month!!
Maternity clothes: Not bought anything new again this week.
Any Baby/Pregnancy-Related Purchases? No not this week…for once!!!!
Sleep: Having crazy dreams, but sleeping reasonably well, wake up around 2am or 5am for a toilet stop still though!
Food cravings: None
Food aversions: None
Symptoms: Today has been a good week, not any new symptoms, but been feeling baby a lot stronger this week which has been lovely
What I’m looking forward to: My husband works away a lot and has been away a few weeks now. I am super looking forward to seeing him and for him to see bumps growth
Best moment this week: Hearing her heart beat loud and clear at the midwife appointment this week, it was amazing ❤