Exercise in pregnancy

Overall I try to be quite healthy and love a balanced life. My diet isn't perfect (working for a chocolate company doesn't help) but I try and balance the good and bad together along with exercise. 

That is until any trimester 1... It all goes out the window. There is no energy for any movement that is not essential and I will eat what I can stomach. This time round it was mainly white carbs. I also ate to keep nausea at bay and it worked but of course it did mean I pilled on the pregnancy pounds quite quickly. I struggle with how much I mind about this. I don't mind in the sense that it's natural and I haven't actually weighed myself this time but I do mind when I don't feel like me and things like my arms are huge and there is something I can do about it. But there's also the fact that it's my third pregnancy and with my eldest only 2 1/2 I feel I need to look after my body a bit of we're going to make it through the next months as pain free as possible. I also have in mind that it's healthy for the baby for me to be moving, definitely good for my sanity and well there's labour at the end of it... You'd train for a marathon wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you try and get your body strong for labour. 

In my previous pregnancies I attended specific yoga and Pilates classes. I love them. This time I'm still attending Pilates but have also joined the gym at work. I'm not doing much but as often as I can (maybe 3/4 times a week) I'm heading down there for 40 minutes instead if my lunch break (then eat at my desk after) to do some exercise and stretching. I've been loving it, although it is calm and not strenuous I've been getting that buzz post exercise, it's certainly helping with the hormonal craziness and sleeping too... Within reason (the baby loves dancing on my bladder!). 

I will cover in later posts what I'm doing in the gym as I have found a brilliant video to follow for all you pregnant ladies but I do think there should be more education around what you should and shouldn't do in pregnancy. I'm not expert but having done Pilates I was shocked when I put on an American pregnancy Pilates DVD on and they were doing sit ups. Not only does this feel wrong but there's the whole issue of tummy separation and trying to prevent it not make it worse by doing sit ups!  In pregnancy you should definitely work on your core muscles but through safe exercises. 

I'd love to know what other people have done to stay fit in pregnancy. 

I'm still here!!

Ok, I've been absent for a while but I've not forgotten about my blog just had some prioritising to do. 

I love my blog but being pregnant, working full time and having two young children something needed to give. After spending most of the day looking at a screen I find it hard to want to look at a screen in the evening too. I also struggle with having pictures to go with my blog. But this is something I'm going to worry about a bit less and just write and get it out there!

So in the past few months baby has been growing well... Too well? Hopefully not but I am big! Comments from my husband "why are you so big, you're much bigger than her". Umm not so helpful! I'm now 26 weeks and trying to stay fit and healthy (more on that soon) but it's been the easiest pregnancy I've had, just hope it stays that way!

The toddlers are good. I now say toddlers as the boy is now 15 months, walking and definitely not a baby anymore and he can tantrum like the best of them, think he's been watching his sister in action! As for her she's chatting more and more, I love it and we've had a very successful day of potty training (second time of asking as the first time was a disaster). 

And for work. Well I'd rather not work but finances mean I have to and due to a good maternity package it stacks up to work full time. Of course being at home is my preference but when I'm at work I have that work ethos that I have to try as hard as I can and do as well as I can. This is paying off at the moment as I applied for, then had an interview for and successfully got a promotion. I'm feeling really proud of myself but have 10 weeks or so before I leave in mid oct to try and prove myself. 

So that's my life in a nutshell over the past few months. I'm hoping to be more regular on there especially with some pregnancy updates! 

Differences in pregnancy reaction

Being pregnant with number 3 I have to say I'm every bit as excited as with number 1. Sure there are some differences; no lie ins to recoup and not being able to fully focus on the being that is growing in me. But I'm looking forward to it just as much as number 1 or 2. The reaction however when you're pregnant really does change depending on your number. 

Number 1

Wow, the excitement! Everyone is really pleased for you and really excited. You're wrapped up in cotton wool and really taken care of by everyone. You get regular texts from people asking how are you and baby are and you're still treated as a person and not just a baby making machine. 

Number 2

If you do it close together like us (15 months) then you're met with varying reactions. Disbelief and shock often and most people will think you're mad. Strangers will let you know this too. I was so nervous before number 2 was born because the reaction was so negative and speaking to a friend recently who will have an 18 month gap she has experienced largely the same. It was the best thing we ever did, don't let people ruin it for you. 

Number 3

The perception is that it's easy. My body is used to it, the more you do something the easier it becomes? No! Ok for me this has been the easiest pregnancy but this is only because last time I was so sick. It was awful and I dreaded it happening this time to the point that I was put off having another but luckily it's turned out to be completely different to that. But it's just the same as number 1, I'm still anxious until I see the scans, I'm still excited when I hear the heartbeat or get a flutter in my belly but for others it's totally different. People forget to congratulate you. Not a person but people including several family members!! This isn't a rant against them at all just interesting how different it is. 

I sometimes get asked how I am but usually people ask about the kids first. Telling people I'm pregnant is usually met with an air of expectation and an expectation that this is me for the next 10 years, constantly pregnant. Believe me that is not happening! Not many people seem excited this time and not many people check how you are. And for being wrapped up in cotton wool? Forget it - you have to get on like usual and carry on being a human trampoline for the first two. 

The good thing between number 2&3 is that I don't get the same negative reaction. And I'm not nervous this time just excited. People usually say "you'll be busy" which really makes me laugh because life isn't quiet at the moment! I've also had a couple of compliments that I don't look old enough (hooray!!) and that my two must be very good because I don't look very stressed! I'll take those... Let's hope once number 3 comes I'll be looking the same. 

Things were always going to change between pregnancies but sometimes you don't realise how much. I'll be covering another post soon on how friendships change once you have kids, no matter how much you don't want them to change. But perhaps it changes when the bun enters the oven?! Or as each new seed is planted, your old life and how people treated you seems further and further away. I wouldn't change a thing though and I know how lucky I am to be in this position and not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for that. 

I would love to hear other peoples experiences about reactions to their pregnancies. Please let me know! 

Baby brain

Baby brain, does it really exist? Not sure I can answer that scientifically but it is my current go to excuse for my poor memory. But whether this is baby related or just due to being on the go all the time; 2 kids, full time work and pregnant it's a lot going on.

It might have its downsides but I'm trying to use these mishaps as an excuse to laugh at myself and share funny stories. The only problem is that I have to write them down as guess what? I forget them!!

I've mentioned previously things that I had forgotten: my daughters coat, laptop, lost mobile etc but I have more to add. One of the funniest is a recent bathtime with my son. Whilst he was in the bath I was wondering what these dark things were that kept appearing in the bath. I then realised that I hadn't taken his socks off! Poor boy having a bath with socks on. A downside and serious side effect was that I forgot his jabs. At this point I pointed out to my husband that perhaps child appointments shouldn't just be my remit. He agreed and luckily sorted the appointment and took him along, phew. 

Luckily most of the forgetful moments don't have consequences and I have people to remind me about things. For exams my friend who reminded me about the fact that we were going to see Peppa Pig on stage later that week. Oh dear - not of had I forgotten the date, I had forgotten all about the booking like it had been erased from my memory! After changing a midwife appointment and booking a days holiday from work we got there and I had a lovely day with my daughter. 

We got to Peppa Pig with a little bit of reminding from friends. 

I would love to know - is this just me? Or does anyone else have funny stories on baby brain to tell? 

10 things about being pregnant for the 3rd time

So as you can imagine each pregnancy is totally different. Different for both physical and psychological reasons and of course the general publics reaction. Here's my 10 observations about being pregnant for the third time. 

1. Some people really can't understand it. "But, why? You've already got a boy and a girl?" 

We have things in pink and blue so surely wouldn't want to add to this?!

2. You can't remember how many weeks pregnant you are, or what day it changes. This isn't exclusive to number 3 but this time I don't feel guilty about it. 

3. Daydreaming now consists of being slim and those gin drinking days that are ahead of me. 

4. Of course being slim usually means exercising but we won't worry at this point about how I will find time for that. Although I'm imagining I'll never sit on the sofa again so I'll burn millions of calories running in 3 directions?

5. Not many people talk about this pregnancy. Some people never even congratulate you (yes several people fall into this box). It's assumed that it's all been done twice before so you're a pro (I wish I was a pro, someone would be paying me!!) 

7. Those pregnancy aches and pains? Starting much earlier this time. Even dreaming about how sore my back is. 

8.  The third pregnancy will be much quicker. Two kids plus a full time job means it will go much faster... Surely.... Hopefully... Please....

9. Baby brain x3 is the worst. Whether it's the baby or the fact that life is generally busy I have no ability to retain information. 

10. Busy - this sums up life. Although when I tell people I'm pregnant and they reply that I "will be busy" I just look at them confused, it's not exactly like life is quiet at the moment with two! But busy plus baby brain means nothing gets done: "you must be on the countdown to maternity leave?" Erm, no. I haven't had the chance to think about it yet! 

But this time I also have experience on my side. Last time I worked until 38 weeks as I wanted time "at the other side" but this is my last maternity so will finish earlier and make the most of the "me" time and what spring cleaning I can get done in October / November. 

Knowing what to do for the best

Growing up there was always one person who knew best. My mum. Never faltering or seemingly questioning what was best but always knowing and going with her gut instinct. Perhaps it was because I was number 3 or perhaps it was a front, parents are often good at having a front for their kids. I'm not quite sure whether I've perfected this front or not or whether my kids will just know that I'm feeling clueless most of the time. 

I never know when I should call the doctor or not, never wanting to come across as a panicker. And sometimes I just don't know what's wrong. Like at the moment I am very much clueless. My son who is a year keeps having recurrent sickness. Just once in the day but it's been 3 times in the last week, plus many unsavoury nappies. However there is no fever and he's coming out of a grumpy phase and is really happy at the moment. Obviously we're having to'ing and fro'ing with nursery and I've made a doctors appointment but it's not until next week so I'm full of questions. The main one being "what the hell is wrong" and "shall I go to the doctors tomorrow" and mainly "would should I do for the best". It's giving me sleepless nights and it's times like these that not having a mum anymore really hits home - the person who was always calm and knew what to do isn't here leaving me feeling a bit like a train crash! 

I am going to be decisive and go to the doctors, the poor boy shouldn't be going through this especially as he's already literally had a raw deal on the skin front (probably all connected) and perhaps I will just cry in front of them instead of alone in my room to make them take me seriously. Wish me luck, I'll keep you informed. 

10 signs you're pregnant

Ok. I know this has been done before and that thete are obviously a lot of physical signs that you're pregnant but I've come up with 10 other signs that you maybe pregnant. I'm sure others may recognise a few. 

1. Hangovers. They're a thing of the past right? Well technically they are but actually much of the first trimester will leave you feeling like you've got a constant hangover. But hangovers vary in degree; sometimes you're just a bit fuzzy and tired, other times you're left hugging the toilet bowl all day. A hangover has a plus though (is there a positive to a hangover?!) you generally go to bed and wake up feeling better. Pregnancy though is a waiting game some might feel better at 12 weeks, others a bit later and some unfortunate ones might have it all the way through pregnancy. 

2. Exhaustion. We've all been tired before. Well pregnancy takes this to a whole new level of extreme exhaustion. 7pm becomes a late night. Some days are worse than others and a real struggle to get through without a nap - sadly not living in Spain our work culture doesn't appreciate siesta's!

3. Sleepless nights. Remember point 2 about being exhausted surely you could then sleep all day and night. Wrong... Sleepless nights start already. Just seems so unfair!! 

4. Eating for two. Eating for two isn't a mindset it can become a necessity. Having had a pregnancy where I can't stop being sick this time the way to stop nausea was to eat. And eat. And eat. Yes you may not need any extra calories to make a baby until trimester 3 but I listened to my body and it demanded to be fed and who am I to ignore it. Especially when the alternative is being sick. 

5. Beige diet. Pre pregnancy I'm sure many have thought how their body will become a temple with only organic food passing your lips. This would be the ideal I'm sure however even though you need to eat constantly you may not want to eat fruit and veg and carbs become your best friend. I ate the unhealthiest in the 1st trimester in my pregnancies but have decided not to give myself a hard time about it... Mainly because I was too tired to! 

6. Baby brain may start. And this time it has started in earnest! My forgetfulness is just plain annoying. Twice I've got to work without my laptop to have to return home, twice I've forgotten to take my daughters coat to nursery, I've forgotten my sons nursery bag, I've lost my work mobile (still not found it but not told work yet... I'll blame it on my baby brain!!). The worst thing, forgot my sons jabs and just hoping it can be rebooked this week. 

The offending often forgotten / lost items 

7. Telling fibs. Lying might become second nature, mainly due to hiding your pregnancy by what ever means necessary. This tonic water, of course it's a G&T, yes I'm hungry again and in need of carbs all due to too much wine again last night, yes I'm exhausted oh of course it was the kids they kept me up ALL night. Come the scan you're a seasoned pro at it. 

8. Lack of patience. Are you a patient person? This may not be the case once there's a bun in the oven. People skating on thin ice are probably; your parent, parents, children and work colleagues. Thing is this is definitely not a 12 week thing it can last the whole time and probably a few weeks after that too. Blame hormones and eventually they'll settle down and the patience will return. 

9. Time scales change. You start talking in weeks. If you're pregnant it's all about weeks and people who aren't pregnant always spend 30 seconds converting back to months. This lasts until baby is about 6 months old when you're brain can't cope with updating their age every week!! 

10. You become a rubbish friend. Either through avoiding or forgetting to reply to messages or trying to avoid a meeting in those 12 weeks where you know your lack of drinking will be a give away. This isn't always intentional but often because of baby brain (see point 6) but sometimes you also have nothing that you can say. No I'm not ok - I have the most amazing news that I can't tell you and I'm spending most my days with my head in a toilet or in bed. So you lie and say nothing then your friends stop getting in touch for a time anyway because you've become pretty dull to be honest. In most cases this is reversable though and once you break the news everyone is happy. Those that aren't really aren't worth bothering with. 

News!

So I am now in a position to explain my blogging absence. Whilst I haven't lied to you all, I haven't told you the whole truth. Since I returned to work I have been exhausted both physically and mentally hence the absence. But the big reason behind my extreme tiredness is that I've been cooking number 3!! 

It's obviously something I've needed to keep quiet but now I've had my scan(s) (my NHS one was when I was 13 weeks so we paid for a private one as we were feeling impatient) and I've told work. Ideally I would have liked to keep the news quiet a bit longer from work but my belly is giving me away. That's the con of the third baby, that plus needing to constantly eat carbs to avoid feeling sick. 

I wrote a few posts in the last 12 weeks that I will share with you in the next couple of weeks. Most of the time I was too tired to write but I'm pleased I did the few that I did as it's a nice record of how I was feeling at the time. 

So not only will I now share life with two within 15 months it will be 3 under 3! Albeit the eldest will only be under 3 for a few weeks as I'm bound to be later than my due date. 

I would love to hear from you of you're pregnant or in a similar position with 3 kids. How do you cope when they out number you?!

Long days, quick years

So yesterday saw my son, number 2 child turn 1. Wow, how did that happen?! It shows the saying "long days, quick years" is certainly true in parenthood. There's those days that you're begging for bedtime to come a bit quicker and yet when you reach milestones like birthdays you really can't believe it's come round that quick. 

I'm sure this year went quicker than my daughters first year and not just because we have two children. My boy was a big 8lb13 when born and was 13lb11 by 6 weeks. He didn't look like a newborn for anytime at all and that made it go quicker. My daughters appearance also dramatically changed over her first year but the boy? He's kind of always just looked like him. If you look at pictures of my daughter in that first year you'd struggle to realise it was her but he hasn't really changed, just got bigger. This is good in a way because he was very cute!! 

The chunky monkey at 6 weeks. 

I have to say that this has been the best year ever. Yes some tough days and not so fun being back at work now but being blessed enough to have two happy and healthy children has made us very happy parents. As I've said before I was so apprehensive about the age gap but now I know it was the best decision we could have ever made. 

Is my child a scaredy cat?!

In my mind I thought toddlers were meant to be fearless? Mine? Not so much. I'm not really complaining as sometimes it's a blessing knowing that she's not going to run head first into a situation but I have recently muttered to her that she needs to "man up"!! Umm I get that it's a bad thing to say for so many reasons! 

The big fear my daughter has is dogs. Up to the age of 1 there was no problem now aged 2 1/4 she's really frightened of them. I do understand she's small and some dogs are big but even small rat like dogs leave her quaking! Now she loves her scooter but the place where we like to scoot is also full of dogs!! She spots one in the distance, makes one of those annoying noises that a toddler makes then either freezes on her scooter or hides behind me. The great irony? 99.9% of the times the dogs don't even come by to sniff her! I have no idea where this fear has come from and no idea how to make it better. She visited my friend recently who has a dog and for the most time sat on the sofa not even letting her feet off the edge! But by the end she did stroke him so we had progress. I try to reassure her and hope that as with most things this is a phase and she'll grow out of it. I'm determined not to take her somewhere else to go on her scooter and hide her from dogs as I can see it only getting worse then in the future. But any tips would be welcome!! 

Back at work

Apologies for the quietness on my blog but since I've been back at work I have been exhausted!! I'm determined to keep blogging but for the next few weeks there will be definitely be a few less posts until I'm really in the swing of things.

This is my second return to work post maternity leave and it's be fine. When people ask how it's going that's my usual response along with tiring! It is fine but not what I want! But I know in the future that part time working or a more flexible solution will be hopefully be there for us so it's not forever. I feel blessed that we have had our two close together because I've seen what a lot of full time parents don't see - your kids aren't a nightmare all of the time. I mean they are hard work but when you're working full time and they're in daycare when Saturday morning comes along it's often not as fun as you hope because they're tired and not in the child safe environment they're used to and hear "no" a lot more. Plus when you pick them up in the week they can be grumpy from a long day being busy. When I was on maternity my daughter went to nursery on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which meant that a Thursday morning we needed an activity to get out the house but get back for that much needed nap. Thursdays were often hard work but it meant by the weekend she was over that tiredness and ready for family time. It's just such a shame that now I don't see much of them during the week then at least 1/2 day at the weekend is spent with poor behaviour due to tiredness but it's the nature of the beast I suppose. Luckily now we've got to the top of the swimming lesson list so both kids will be having lessons on a Saturday morning... Hopefully followed by a nice, long lunchtime nap. One can dream can't she?

On the plus side work is ok and the kids are doing really well at nursery. My daughter has settled from doing 2 to 5 days well and my son has settled really quickly. He still cries every night when I pick him up in "I've just realised I've missed you" kind of way!! But they're happy and learning new skills all the time. Just some how I have that battle like any mum who works or stays at home... Me time, how do we make it exist?

Would love to know how other parents find time for themselves? Is it possible.

Thanks for bearing with me during this slow blog time. There are more posts in my head to come soon xx

Teeth

Teeth are the Bain of most parents life's. From the age of approximately 6 months any unexplainable thing that happens to your child from nappy rash to dribbling will be blamed on teeth. "Sorry he's a bit grumpy, think it's his teeth", "sorry not sure why my daughter is having a tantrum, think it might be teeth". Didn't sleep well? It must be teeth. A bit hyper / quiet? Teeth. Anything can be blamed on teeth - my previous GP even said that when he first started teething could be cited on death certificates of infants.

We've been lucky in general with teething but have had our ups and downs and certainly aren't through it yet. My daughter had two bottom teeth through at 6 months and then nothing more for ages and ages! In fact another 6 months! The first two were fine but the next few caused more issues. On her first birthday she was fine, next day nursery called she had a temperature of 39! We picked her up but also had lunch plans at the hand and flowers so she had to come too. They were brilliant but it was slightly embarrassing her spitting out two Michelin starred chips and carrot! She sat on me the whole time and despite calpol was getting hotter and hotter  so when we came back we went straight to he doctors to hear she had a chest infection, tonsillitis and an ear infection. Poor little lady and then  a few days later two teeth appeared. This pattern happened for the next 3/4 pairs of teeth that came through, she would have a very high temperature and require antibiotics then a few days later more teeth would appear. Her fangs came through quite late (end of last year) and seemed ok but we had a sigh of relief, no more teeth for a while before those dreaded molars came through and a dentist appointment in January it confirmed they didn't seem like they were coming anytime soon. Then tonight as I was brushing her teeth I spotted something - to my shock it was half a molar! The gum is still covering half the top but it feels like it appeared out of no where! So the little lady got an extra sticker before she went to bed for her new tooth which had probably been there for some time. It looks like the other bottom molar will be greeting us sometime soon.

With our son things are happening a little quicker although it started exactly the same. Two bottom teeth on the stroke of 6 months. However at 10 months he has 6 teeth as four massive top teeth have also greeted us. I've been grateful that he has more teeth before he started nursery in the hope that he won't be as ill as his sister was at times. So far he has had grumpy stages and much like his sister really bad nappies when the teeth cut - think the worst nappy rash you've ever seen which weeps plus horrendous poo, which isn't that rare for my children! But we've been lucky so far and I'm hoping it continues!

Some tips for teething:

1. Funky giraffe bibs for dribble
2. Bongela / teething gel
3. Cucumber 
4. Teething rings cooled in the fridge
5. Calpol and nurofen - keep them topped up. Don't worry about giving them it. If they're in pain then give them something to relieve it
6. Nelson's teething powder. It's a natural powder and I don't know how or even if it works but it does seem to provide some relief to them
   
7. Remote controls - you know at the end of the day you can have as many teething toys as possible (Lamaze toys with some teething parts on are good) but they are still going to want to chomp on your remote control or phone or glasses... Anything that's solid!
8. Gin - obviously this is for you not them! But after a day with a grumpy baby perhaps it's you that needs the relief and I often find that gin is a good help!

So if you're going through teething, good luck! It will end and isn't always as bad as you hear (but it sometimes is!). Each child and actually each tooth is completely different. 

Getting it wrong

So I'll start at the end. The end of a long day.

I stood in the car park of the nursery and arrived at the same time as a lovely friend of mine. She is one of my nct friends as well as a nursery companion. Her eldest son and my daughter have known each other since birth which is lovely. She knew, she knew as soon as she looked at me and asked about work how emotional I was. I managed to fight the tears... Just. But talking to her made me feel so much better (don't you love people who can do this) but she also made me realise I had been totally unprepared for nursery. I had got work sorted, I got nursery sorted but I wasn't mentally ready for the challenge of re balancing work and home life but more specifically when they crash together like thunder.

Let me start from the beginning. My third week of work but little mans second day at nursery as my husband did the childcare for the first two weeks. I woke up from a really angry, frustrating dream. The type where no one is listening no matter how much you shout or swear. But it was one of those dreams where it really affects you and you can feel it flowing through you. Never the less once I was up and dressed it was time to start the day. My son had been moaning off and on during the evening, we had a few cuddles and couple of burps then just left him. We presumed it was because he'd had his first day and his routine hadn't been followed as requested. But once I was showered and dressed I went in to see my son. Yuk, there's something in the air, light on, yes there it was he was surrounded by sick. Well not surrounded, there wasn't much there but he needed a shower and cuddles (the shower was most definitely coming first). Once I did this I gave him his bottle and got him dressed. Seeing the sick I realised that there was kiwi in it and last time he had kiwi he was sick so I felt from instinct that it wasn't a bug but rather a reaction to this food. So into the car we get me the boy and the girl and I drop them at nursery. After deliberating I told nursery about the sick and to avoid kiwi in future.

But as I drove away from the nursery I was questioning whether I'd done the right thing. My children come first above all else but I'd just left my son who wasn't 100% in their care not mine and driven to work. I felt sick and emotional. I got to work feeling awful, am I doing the right thing? Is he ok? So I set up my computer then did what any self respecting mum of two would do.... I hid in the toilets and cried. I cried a lot, I took my time and then needed to keep reminding myself of "deep breaths" throughout the morning.

You see I'm not very good at changing plans. Never have and probably never will be. So when I'm planning to go to work that's where I'm going and a sick child changes that. Obviously I go with the change, the children come first. But then there are days like this that are grey areas and what do you do? I'd rather be looking after my son but I'm mentally prepared for work so I find it hard to change. So when I spoke to my friend she reminded my how when her son started nursery at the same time as my daughter she didn't get to have a full week at work for 3 months due to him having so many ill days. She said she was already
preparing for this with number 2 and there was the realisation. I had completely failed to do this. I thought of it a bit but hadn't really prepared myself for the bugs and the days off with a poorly child. This is bad planning really and good advice to any parent putting their children into day care to make sure they do prepare for it.

So there it is, getting it wrong second time round. After a good nights sleep I woke up brighter and mentally prepared myself to be prepared to change the days plans at a moments notice.

5 weeks pregnant

This post was written when I was 5 weeks pregnant so it's a reflective look at how I was feeling. I think nervous sums it up! Now I'm around 17 weeks and feeling good, long may it continue!! 

So this week has been a mixed bag. I'm tired but it has been my first week of both children in full time nursery and my third week back at work and the workload is really ramping up.

At times, even a lot of time I can forget I'm pregnant which is great as I don't feel like I'm lying to people which I hate. But then of course you just hope everything is ok. But if the next few weeks are like this then I'm laughing! A few waves of nausea and smells turn my stomach a little more than usual but I can cope with that. There have been a few downs though. This week saw me crying in the toilets in work one morning and I know the hormones are really playing havoc with my mind!

Have to be honest I'm not feeling like having my usual coffee! 

I'm also nervous. Next week is week 6, the key week where normally the sickness and tiredness really start. Fingers crossed it will all be ok. I also have my doctors appointment which I'm looking forward to. Although we want to have the baby at another hospital outside of our authority, we did this with our first two and it was fine but does add a bit of extra complication into the system. I have suggested to my husband we go to he local one (actually only 2 miles closer, in a town centre and next to a football stadium which makes the other one actually quicker to get to) but he wasn't keen. It's fine, I love where I gave birth twice but with it being number 3 I do want to make life as simple as possible.

Onwards to the next week - I say week but I'm definitely taking it a day at a time. Hopefully it's not TMI but I do get nervous every time I go to the toilet that they're be something there signifying something has gone wrong. I know I was like this with the first two and it just shows that some things don't change with number 3!

Friday Favourites - Life Craft

So in my post yesterday I showed you my daughters bedroom which is my favourite room in our house.  I also briefly showed you the lampshade in her room, well here is a close up of it.

As I said yesterday I actually made this and am impressed with the results.  I follow Cath Kidston on twitter and saw that a company called LifeCraft were hosting a lampshade making course in their store for £30 (the course was £20 plus £10 for fabric).  I decided to sign up ASAP (after checking that my husband would pay and look after the children!) and wasn't disappointed.  It was such a nice afternoon spending time with some lovely ladies and feeling like I was actually doing something useful.  My mum was really crafty and creative and I'd like to be more like that so this course seemed like a great way to be crafty with some help from experts. They helped me choose this bird print which we thought went with the curtains (I took a picture on my phone) and of course it's so pretty.  It is quite grown up for my little girl but I think she can have this for years to come.  It turned out that it was really easy to make the lampshade - but having help from the other ladies was invaluable!

When I took it home I put it up in her room and showed it to her and she loved it!! She kept saying "mummy, birds" and if my husband asked her who made it for her she would answer "mummy". It was (and is still) quite a proud feeling.

I also did a Christmas craft course with the Lifecraft ladies and made both the children stockings.  This was one of my proudest parenting moments as they have lovely unique stockings now which I think look great!  I'm hoping that this Christmas I can do another Christmas craft course.  I'm also keeping an eye on their website for future courses as I know they do some day courses for making childrens clothes, although I'm not actually sure my skills on the sewing machine are quite good enough!

Do you like being creative and crafty?  Would love to see / hear about your creations!!

NB - I paid for the course myself, it's not a sponsored post - just done out of love!!

My favourite Room - My daughters bedroom

So this weekend saw a change - we gave our 2 year old a duvet.  She had been refusing to wear her sleepbag for a few weeks and had been wearing it as a blanket along with another blanket.  But I finally got round to getting her a duvet, pillow and covers.  After speaking to a friend we decided to just get a single duvet rather than a toddler bed one, it is a little big in her cot but at least we won't need to replace it in a year or two, it has also made it easier to find the right size linen.

I thought I would use this as a chance to show you my favourite room in our house, the little lady's room.  We decorated a few months ago and wanted to go for a girlie over princess.

She has two walls painted green but it's hard to see in this light.

I will do a post later in the week about her lampshade as I made it for her and I do love it.  Her curtains are from John Lewis and just beautiful.  We had them first and went for the green on the walls to coordinate.

This is the duvet set we went for - we need to get spares but this will do for now.  I bought this gorgeous floral and fairy set from Wilkinsons - I think it's one of the best shops on the high street for value and often find their products are great quality.

I love the prints on the wall, all three of them were actually presents.

Her bookshelf is a bit of a mess but there is no point tidying and re tidying!!
On the wall she has a welsh love spoon and a print from her christening.  It's her footprints and then messages from those that came to her (and her brothers) joint christening.  I actually thought up the idea and impressed myself with the creativity and how well it turned out! I love reading their messages everyday.
We do need to get more pictures up but at the moment we just have her with her godparents and then a picture of two of her friends on top of her wardrobe (similar here).

I love this room, it's cosy and girlie and not a princess room!  We need to sort out under her bookshelfs with more storage as there are too many toys under there.  We also want to make it a really cosy reading corner with lots of cushions etc but one step at a time.

What's your favourite room in your house?  Do you like how you've done your children(s) rooms?

NB - This is NOT a sponsored post!!  All bought and paid for by us!

Pancakes!

Some times at weekends I try and make breakfast a little bit more special and with pancake day this week I thought some blueberry pancakes would be appropriate.  I don't do these very often as you obviously add sugar but they are seriously delicious. It's even better to have a little helper who wants to help stir

Although I have to be honest, often as a parent you're looking forward to things such as a nice breakfast but it doesn't always go that way that you plan in your head. Prior to the pancakes being served two grumpy children were voicing their hunger very loudly! So we did appease them with some cereal first and when the pancakes were done we all certainly enjoyed them - especially the little man who managed to get blueberry juice all round his face!! But it wasn't quite the relaxing morning I had planned in my head!

Do you have a special breakfast you like to make?

MAD Blog Awards

This weeks Monday's moment is a little self indulgent so please excuse me.  Last week I found out that someone had nominated me in the MAD blog awards under the category "Most entertaining blog".  Now I'm not going to lie I was utterly shocked but also over the moon!  I started this blog about 6 weeks ago and have been amazed at the response and feedback I have received and to receive a nomination just put me on cloud 9!

Since I mentioned this on my facebook page a few people asked how to vote, so here is the link and the categories I'm eligible for: Blog of the year, Best blog writer, Best new blog and most entertaining blog.  I would love it if anyone who has a spare minute and likes reading my blog votes for me.  I don't for a minute think that I will win (I read some amazing blogs) but I'll be truthful with you, it feels amazing to know that someone has taken the time to vote for me.  So thank you if you're the person who has voted and thank you to anyone who does vote; I really, really appreciate it!!

The (very) thin blue line

This is a reflective post as I wrote it when I was 4 weeks pregnant and had just found out that number 3 was being cooked! 

The thin Blue Line

So if like us the household budgets need to be given some TLC then you might consider buying cheap pregnancy tests.  DON'T!!  They do work but we went through several this week after the realisation that our plan might have worked this month... But we weren't quite sure.  There were several almost definite negative tests, followed by those... "I think there's a line but I'm not sure" - Let's compare it to the one that isn't used.  Umm, still not sure... Put it under the light.  Nope there was nothing for it we had to spend another £10 - Yes £10 for a stick to pee on to see the word "pregnant" flash up!!  This one also came with a blue line test which I also did and I can confirm that the clearblue blue lines do show up more than own brand, who knew eh?!  So finally I did see the word "pregnant" - Hooray!! Number 3 is in there!!

What's next

So obviously we've been through this twice before and I am just as excitd but it is a different excited.  Unlike last time where I was worried about the right thing with the age gap (15 months between 1 and 2) I feel comfortable that we're doing the right thing.  Yes there will be 3 under 3 but it will be hectic what ever the age gap and to be honest it just feels right.  But whilst I'm excited I'm nervous, not about the baby but the first trimester.  With number 1 I was exhausted and sick a few times, with number 2 I was sick - a lot and just as number 1 had started crawling too.  So I'm nervous that I have to look after 2 children, work full time and hide my pregnancy.  I really don't want to be sick, it's horrible and really takes over your life.  But then at the same time at least it's usually a good sign that your body is doing something and at the moment I don't have any of that.  Well, I'm more tired but is that just in my head or am I actually getting more tired?  But my boobs don't hurt which is great because I remember needing a metre perimeter around them when they do hurt but at the moment I don't have any of these feelings of pregnancy.

Ok... Maybe that last point is a lie.  I do feel like the hormones are doing their worst.  And by worst I really do mean it.  I have very little patience suddenly - My poor 2 year old has had heard that she's "testing my patience" several times each hour and my husband has borne the brunt of it.  Of course I should say sorry but no I'm too much of a hormonal bitch to ever admit to him that I'm being a bit more unreasonable than usual and that he isn't annoying me, of course he actually is annoying me but sometimes I can put up with it more than right now.

So at the moment it's happy days although I am already missing Friday drinks.  But it's also the time to be cautious and not get carried away.  Hopefully everything will "go to plan" and at 12 weeks we'll be presented with a grainy scan of a little being with a healthy beating heart etc but at the moment that seems a very long way away.

Friday Favourite - Sophie the Giraffe

The Friday Favourite on the Swan Project this week is a popular product - Sophie the Giraffe.

I love Sophie and both my children have loved Sophie too.  She is a natural rubber giraffe with a little "squeaker" inside.  Designed to soothe sore gums during teething it is also the perfect size and shape for little hands and mouths.

Once my daughter was a few months old I soon realised that Sophie was a "must have" item.  I try to avoid buying popular products just for the sake of it but it dawned on me that all babies should have a Sophie in their lives.  My daughter loved playing with her a lot!!

For Christmas due to the fact that Sophie had been so well used and my son had managed to be sick right over her squeaker we decided that Father Christmas should bring our son a new Sophie.  I also decided that we should add to our Sophie family with this gorgeous teething ring too:

We have attached this to some plastic links we had which are perfect for little gums to chew on.  It was an instant hit.

Now I have noticed a new addition to the Sophie family so if you don't want to buy a Sophie because everyone has it, or are worried that too many babies in one room will mean that you go home with the wrong Sophie then let me recommend this cutie; FanFan the Fawn:

If you love Sophie too then I recommend checking out the website.  There are so many beautiful products on there that you can add to your collection.  I think that my son is starting to come to the age where he's less interested in teething toys and more interested in moving and getting the remote control but I'm pleased that he had a Sophie in his life.  

Please note - I was not paid or asked to write this review.  I have done it based on my experience only and because I love it!