Third Trimester Faves

1. Argos Gym Ball

Bounce. Bounce, Bounce! I try to sit and bounce on my gym ball at least once a day to encourage the baby to stay head down and to engage further. It is so comfortable and takes the weight off my back when it is sore. I've also used it against the wall rolling my back to try to stretch. I opted for this ball as it was extremely inexpensive at only £6.99!

2. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino

I know this is terrible but with the last few weeks of scorching hot weather I have been loving this iced deliciousness from Starbucks! I go all out and get the cream and caramel on top too which is extremely decadent but delicious. It is available with decaf coffee too. Yum!

3.Raspberry Leaf Tea

I started drinking this tea a few weeks ago in the evenings and I really don't mind the sweet taste. The raspberry leaf is believed to help tone the uterus and help with more efficient contractions so therefore a quicker labour. I have to admit I have slowed down in drinking hot drinks as it really is uber hot in London at the moment!

4. Gaviscon Advance (Liquid and Chewable Tablets)

I don't think I could live without this! I keep the liquid beside my bed and have it if I wake up in the night with heartburn/acid and I have the chewable tablets downstairs and have them after lunch and dinner if I can feel the burn. I got them free on prescription from the doctor after applying for a maternity exemption card.

5. Cooling Leg & Foot Gel by Sanctuary

My good friend Melodie gave me this and some other Sanctuary mum to be treats at my baby shower. My husband has been applying it to my poor, sore swollen feet when I ask him too. It is soothing and feels great. My feet have only started to swell in the last week, again I think due to the heat! These London homes are not built for warm weather... not even a fan let alone air-conditioning! 

Week 34 & 35 Update

Me, Archie and the bump resting my feet on my new gym ball.

How far along: Today I am 36 weeks and 5 days along, so really running late on my updates. This is a total reflection of how I am feeling at the moment... completely wiped out and tired! I've started drinking raspberry leaf tea this week and we brought a gym ball to start bouncing on to help baby move down in position for labour. Its really comfortable to sit on when my back is achy too as it takes the pressure off.

Symptoms:  Week 34 was the start of random sharp pains down low which would really startle me. I had a very thorough GP at my 34 week appointment and she had a good feel of my bump, pressing and probing to determine the position of baby Paicey in the womb. We had great news... Baby is lying head down and 4/5th palpable, engaging in my pelvis and doing all the right things in readiness for birth. The babies head is measured in 5 finger widths and 4/5ths palpable means the GP could feel 4/5ths of the babies head above my pelvis, so our baby is just beginning to engage which she said was the reason for the sharp pains I was feeling. I can't tell you how exciting it was to hear that the baby was head down, but at this point whilst not too common, the baby can still shift position. Oh my goodness the shoulder pain on my left side was constant and seemed to be like a fuzzy nerve pain that I couldn't get rid of, and seemed to get worse by walking. I practised my yoga stretches to try to stretch it out and it would give a small amount of relief but would return a short while later. I think it was from sleeping on my left hand side and the weight of my body on my shoulder. Acid reflux/heart burn. Wow when that hits it is really unbearable. I had this earlier on in the pregnancy but nothing as painful as this. It started after I had been out for dinner with friends visiting from Australia and indulged in dessert. I've now got Gaviscon tablets to suck on after meals and before bed, plus I've given up on overeating as it was really not a fun symptom to contend with!

Sleep:  I can either fall asleep straight away or lay awake for hours despite being super tired. Through the night I usually wake up once for a quick trip to the bathroom and then fall straight back asleep and then I wake unusually early in the morning to go to the bathroom again. It is so hot here at the moment and without a fan in our bedroom so I think the heat wakes me up early as well as the baby pressing on my bladder. I cannot stress enough how much I love my pregnancy pillow. I'll be sad to get rid of it in a few weeks! But then again, I'll be able to sleep on my back or stomach so that will be a joy! 

Weight Gain: The GP weighed me which was the first time in pregnancy apart from my very first booking in appointment that anyone (apart from myself) has weighed me. I was 14kg (30 lbs) heavier than the beginning of pregnancy, with the doctor telling me that ideally I wouldn't go higher than 15 kg's in total. I wonder if only a 1kg gain is even possible with 6 weeks still to go? I have heard that in the final few weeks of pregnancy you may not put on any weight or even loose a little, due to the reduction in amniotic fluid and the fact that your bump is so big you can't eat very big meals without feeling ridiculously full. Time will tell, but honestly I don't feel that if I get to 16kg I'm going to beat myself up about it.

Food:  As it's Mr P's off season we are eating really healthy meals. We plan a menu for the week and then a shopping list so the house is only full of what we need. Still that doesn't stop me from walking to the corner store and buying an ice cream or chocolate bar... especially when I'm home alone! I'm really craving tropical fruit and have had yummy fresh mango and pineapple. I have been on the lookout for good watermelon but nothing has looked the part so far so I'm yet to satisfy that craving. I've been making sure to eat early in the evenings to try and give my body some time to digest food before laying down in bed to try to avoid the dreaded heartburn.

Movement:  The movement can be described as rolling and pressing now as the babies got much less room to move. For me it feels like the balls in a massage chair that roll around in circles. It is great knowing how baby Paicey is lying as I can tell if its a little limb, bottom or back rolling around in there. I sometimes need to press back on the foot jarring out of my stomach to try and ease the pain.

Belly Button: Its popped out as far as I think possible, but still a little bit of an innie!

Stretch Marks:  I've obviously still got the few little ones on the underside of my breasts and have one on each side of my hips that are red. Still none on my tummy which I'm really happy about and being extra vigilant in applying my Mama Mio tummy butter and boob tube lotion. 

Wedding rings:  Still on but I really should take them off. They are really tight and leaving indentations on my finger after a walk outside in the heat but are OK in the house. I really don't want to take them off!

Baby's Gender:  Unknown but more and more curious as the weeks roll on. We have a list of names picked out for both a boy and a girl but hard to really push for a name until we at least know the gender. Its so exciting and I can't wait for the moment we find out if we have a son or a daughter!

Bump:  Huge! Its seriously hard to move off the bed or the sofa. I have to basically roll off now and if I drop something, it has to be something important for me to pick it back up! I can't wait to be able to bend in the middle again.

Bumping out at 35 weeks!

28 Weeks - Welcome to the Third Trimester!

I've hit the third and final trimester! Woohoo! Theres something so great about reaching milestones and it feels like we are on the home stretch to meeting our little baby in August! We've had a great week with an action packed weekend which has made this week fly by which is exactly what I want at this point. 

On Thursday we had our 28 week appointment with my midwife which entailed a blood test to check for anaemia, a urine sample to test for protein and glucose and a blood pressure reading. Happy to report all was well. Mr P came to this appointment as he was home from rugby training and got to listen to baby Paicey's heartbeat which was cool for him. The midwife felt around my belly and pushed and pressed really hard and was able to tell that our little one was head down and feet up at this point which made me happy. But she did say that the baby still has a lot of room and could turn out of position at any point. The student midwife measured my bump from the pubic bone to the top of the fundus and got 28 centimetres which was spot on for 28 weeks and then the midwife did a quick measurement and got 32 centimetres, which could mean that we have a huge baby! They both agreed to disagree and said either way, baby Paicey is measuring on target and was a nice size. So it will be interesting to see at my 32 week appointment with the GP what the measurement is coming in at, as they say that everyone takes the measurement differently. Plus its not all baby in there, maybe theres lots of fluid!

On Friday evening we had an end of season awards dinner for Mr P's rugby club held at the Hilton, Heathrow terminal 5. It was really nice to get all glammed up for the evening. I spent the afternoon doing my nails and makeup and went for a blowdry at the hairdressers which was nice. I wore a twobirds floor length dress that covered my bump beautifully. I borrowed it from my friend Shauna as I didn't want to buy anything that I wouldn't wear again. Shauna is much taller than me so I had to wear the highest heels that I own due to the length of the dress, which happened to be my 5 inch Jimmy Choos that Mr P brought me for our wedding day. It was nice to pull these beauties out for the night nearly a year after our wedding. Nice until 2am when we were leaving and my poor feet were in agony.. worth the pain though! I was worried about my feet swelling but I haven't experienced this symptom yet. We were really rubbish with taking photos except for a few that I insisted were taken in our living room before we left. I intended to get a few of me and my hubby all dressed up in his tuxedo when we arrived but we were too busy having fun. I was actually really disappointed we didn't get one of the two of us as it was a perfect occasion to show off the bump and would have been a nice momento.

I was so shattered when we woke up on Saturday morning after a 3am bedtime on Friday night so I stayed in bed til around midday before getting up to get ready for another day out. We were off for a day in the sunshine to watch the last game to be played at our rugby club before they knock it down and the team moves into the new state of the art training centre they have built for next season. My hubby has played for the same professional club for 10 years now so we have seen a lot of players and there families come and go over the years, and many of our old friends came from near and far to say goodbye to the old club ground that has been there for 80 or so years. We had a great day, lots of food and plenty to drink for Mr P and it was another big day, finishing up at 11pm. I had to grab a seat from inside and bring it out as my legs and back were starting to ache and sitting on the floor was only good in short periods as my legs were getting pins and needles. Lots of babies and bumps were out and I got a few snaps with my friend Lindsay who is pregnant and just 1 week behind me. She has a bigger bump than me and looks great!

On Sunday we needed to make the most of the glorious weather so we walked along the river from Kingston to Hampton which took about an hour and thirty minutes and had lunch in a cafe in Hampton. We've done this walk before and managed it a bit quicker and also walked the return journey, but it was a bit much for this pregnant mummy to be so we caught a boat home which was so lovely! 

All in all, week 28 and entering the third trimester was a fantastic week. Plenty of relaxing days at the start of the week, a good midwife appointment and an action packed weekend. The bump is starting to get very big now and I get lots of comments and people wanting to feel it. Im not one to mind this, but I am aware that some pregnant ladies don't like people touching their bumps. I've been chugging back the gaviscon before bed as i've had some heartburn but nothing too serious. I weighed myself at the midwife appointment and I am still 9kg heavier than pre pregnancy. Everyone has an opinion on the gender of baby Paicey with most saying they think its a girl. A few bets have been placed and Im just too excited to think of the moment we find out! Oh and we brought a baby book called The baby whisperer. I'm about a third of the way through it and I'm liking it a lot so far but I will let you know once I'm finished it whether I recommend it. Its about a structured eating, sleeping and activity routine for when baby arrives. I hope you had a lovely week too! X