32 Weeks Pregnant and a trip to Cornwall

We usually get away somewhere nice in June or July each year as this is when Mr P gets a month off from the rugby season. This year with the impending arrival of baby Paicey, we decided to stay in England. Most airlines do let pregnant woman fly up to 36 weeks but after 28 weeks this requires a fitness to fly certificate from your doctor. I am a very cautious person by nature and didn't want to take the risk of any complications arising if we were in a foreign country, plus it can be a very expensive time preparing for a baby! So we have been enjoying the great summer weather we have been experiencing here in England and set off to Cornwall for a long weekend. We stayed in St Ives at a beautiful spa hotel set right upon the beach.

We had such perfect weather for the 4 days we were away and the food was beautiful everywhere we ate. We enjoyed the spa facilities everyday with hubby using the gym, sauna and jacuzzi whilst I used the indoor swimming pool and had a massage and a pedicure in the treatment rooms. I wish we could go again, it was so relaxing and just what we needed. Mr P finally had some time to read some of The Baby Whisperer which has the E.A.S.Y routine that we intend to follow with baby Paicey so it is great that he is up to speed with it all. Our last getaway/babymoon as a twosome! I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the beaches were, however the water was still icy cold in our opinion and we didn't have a dip in the ocean as planned! I promise my 33 week update will be more 'pregnancy' related and ill go over my symptoms but plenty of bump photos in this post so I hope you enjoy xx

Enjoying a Cornish cloudy lemonade before dinner.

A beautiful lunch view in Newquay on our drive down the coast.

Rick Steins fish & chips at Padstow

Getting some sun on the bump!

I promise I am wearing my bikini it is just hidden by the bump!

Mr P at beautiful St Ives. Our hotel was up on the hill.

My Baby Shower!

I was lucky enough to be thrown a beautiful baby shower/celebration by my good friend Jenny. It was a surprise leading up to it until the day of the shower when a few things happened and I had an inkling something was going on! The celebration was in the evening as the summer weekends had filled up with holidays and events and it was such a lovely night celebrating the bump! Not living in the same country as my Mum and sister who would usually organise a baby shower (and would have loved too if they could have), I was unsure if I would be having one so it was such a lovely surprise!

The girls had this beautiful cake made for me. It was a red velvet sponge on the inside. Yum!

I had such a wonderful time, lots of smiles, lots of excitement and best wishes. 

Baby Paicey was really spoilt and we received such beautiful, thoughtful gifts. 

We have had lots of postal deliveries from friends and family too and are extremely grateful! Thank you to my lovely hostess and to my lovely friends who came along. We are so lucky to have such beautiful people in our lives.

Such a fun night with a few games. These are some of my friends fabulous bib and T-shirt creations that we will keep as memories and keepsakes. 

(Hooker is Mr P's rugby position! We certainly think he is the best!)

31 Weeks Pregnant

With only 9 weeks to go we are in single digit weeks til my due date! It was a slow week for us Paice's and at 31 weeks pregnant it was just what I needed. Ive started to slow down in the speed I go about things and if I drop something its definitely getting hard to bend down and pick it up! Im feeling good mostly and getting more and more excited by the day. Im sleeping fairly well and rarely wake up to go to the toilet which is good, but worrying for my bladder as most of the pregnancy books I read say that I should be needing the loo several times a night by this stage. I had a bad night of heart burn and couldn't get to sleep and woke up really early with it too so Im taking Gaviscon before bed each night at this point.

I had a morning coffee date with a couple of friends and one had her little boy with her who is around 4 months old. She was breastfeeding and I was able to ask her a few questions about feeding and also about leaking. I even asked about going swimming while breastfeeding (as I can't wait to take our little one swimming and for lessons) and she assured me its fine and if I'm worried about leaking just to feed before going in the water.  When we went to leave Starbucks, a lovely man came over and said that I was a very beautiful pregnant lady and had a beautiful glow and smile. It was really kind of him and he really made my day! I took a few snaps once I got home to share how I was looking with a bit of tinted moisturiser, a slick of mascara and unbrushed hair. Perhaps he has a pregnant wife at home and knew it would really lift me up! Thank you to the kind gentleman! 

My bump is blossoming and the baby is moving, somersaulting and pressing into my sides all the time which is really nice and the thing that I will miss the most about being pregnant. Secret little movements that only I can feel. Its really special and something I will always remember.

Im still lathering on the Mama Mio stretch mark and boob tube creams from the top of my chest to my thighs every day, and have noticed a pesky little strechmark on my hip where I have old ones from my teenage years. None on my tummy and I'm crossing my fingers and toes it stays that way! I thought I would include a 'naked' pic of the bump as its at a really round and tidy stage. 

Excuse the bra!

At the end of the week I was booked in to see the GP for my 32 week checkup and we were given a clean bill of health. The fundal height of my uterus was measuring 33.5 weeks, only 1.5 weeks ahead, which isn't considered to be unusual as it can just be the way the baby is lying or how much amniotic fluid you are holding. The doctor speculated from the heart beat that it may be a girl but then the heart rate slowed slightly and we both just laughed as its really no way to tell. But it is fun having people suggest what they think we are having. We went to a friends house after their sons christening on Saturday and all of the women at the BBQ were saying they thought it was a boy for various reasons. When I got home and was brushing my teeth before bed, I said to Mr P 'What if it is a boy?' because he really thinks it is a girl and doesn't really discuss the possibility of a boy. Only time will tell! And time is moving along quite nicely!

30 Weeks Pregnant (75% baked!)

At 30 weeks I am officially 3/4's or 75% of the way through my pregnancy! We are officially on the countdown to meeting baby and time is flying.

I haven't worked during pregnancy and I know I have been very lucky to have had this time to myself to relax and enjoy each day. During the first trimester I would have to say that time felt like it was moving very slowly, and I believe not working compounded this as I had nothing to take my mind off the growing secret inside of me that I was bursting to tell everyone about. That being said, I am so grateful that I didn't have to be on the packed train into London everyday and work through the nausea. I left my job as an accountant at the end of September last year due to many factors, two being the late nights and the travel into Leicester Square each day. The plan was to have a month or two off (as I was studying for two CIMA exams in November to become a chartered accountant) and apply for a new job closer to where we live. We found out I was pregnant in November and I never went back to work! I honestly know believe there would have been a lot of tears and stress for myself (and for Mr P) if I was still in that job, and when I say that so far I have had a wonderful pregnancy, I know a lot of it can be put down to the fact that each day has been at my own pace, waking up late and lounging around, holidaying or having a bath or a walk into town when I feel like it. So I'm very aware that I'm extremely lucky in that respect and I take my hat off to all pregnant women who get on with it and work whilst they are pregnant! 

Mums to be in the UK can take maternity leave from their job from 29 weeks pregnant, if they wish to go early or they can work up until they are ready to give birth. Despite my current unemployment status, I qualify for statutory Maternity Allowance as I worked for 26 weeks in a 66 week test period prior to the babies due date. The weekly amount is £138.18 which will not go far however I am extremely grateful that I qualify for this and this week I received my approval letter stating that my first payment will commence shortly. I have many little bits and pieces to pick up for baby Paicey, just small things like nappies, wipes, creams etc and I think I will even treat myself to a pedicure with my first payment! After not working it is very exciting to get a payment regardless of how small it may seem to some!

This week I caught up with some of my girlfriends from Australia for a lovely dinner cooked by my gorgeous friend and foodie, Melodie who is about to set off filming a television series, cooking her way through Italy. If you like food and recipes,  be sure to check out her blog here. We had a truly lovely evening catching up and the bump seriously received the most rubs and hands on it than its ever had! The girls where trying to feel kicks but I had to tell them that baby Paicey wasn't moving at that moment and I would tell them when he or she did! They loved my big tummy and I felt the love. We were celebrating my friend Jess's 30th birthday and I must have eaten about 36 cupcakes at the end of the meal. They were gluten and dairy free and as I was assured they were apparently healthy, that was enough for me!

Lots of pregnant woman go through a 'nesting' faze at some point, and this week I think it started to happen in our house. Our house is small but quaint and our living room is not very big. Our sofa is on the extremely large size, so it takes up a lot of space. We don't have a coffee table as we think it would take up too much precious floor space but I've started to think about the logistics of having a baby and trying to have a cup of tea/coffee or even a bite to eat and also a place to put the babies bottles, dummy, infacol (if needed) etc. So we hit Ebay to look at our options and settled on a 'nest of tables'. We didn't win the first set that we bid on but we are now the proud owners of these refurbished beauties that tuck away in our bay window. I think they will be perfect.

Archie clearly didn't get the memo and thought we brought them for him.

Just enjoying a decaf perched on the littlest table.

We also upgraded the cushions on our sofa as I was never entirely happy with the browns and greens that we originally had and went for a mix of blues, cream and grey. We got them from M&S and they brighten the room just nicely. Now I just need to get the sofa cleaned before the baby comes along. Unfortunately we had a huge water leak causing damage to our bathroom, spare bedroom, kitchen and dining room, but I won't go into that. Hopefully it will all be fixed up soon because I hate to look at the damage. Lucky I like taking baths as our shower is definitely a no go zone at the moment!

New cushions!

This week on Saturday it was raining so went to a boutique cinema in Walton called Everyman cinemas. Its a small screen that seats around 40 and every seat is a comfy couch with a little side table for yummy snacks! We seen X-Men and took a moment to think it may be our last or close to last trip to the cinema before we have a little one keeping us at home! We had lunch in Nandos prior to the movie and I couldn't tell if it was just me or if I was sitting in the smallest booth seat in the world! I was so squished I felt I could barely get in or out. Mr P said it was OK for him so the expanding bump was just taking up all my space. I snapped a pic below when I thought no one was watching.

The bump closing the gap between table and me!

Well that was our quiet-ish week at 30 weeks pregnant with a trip to the cinema, a good girly catch up dinner and my first bout of nesting. I've got plenty of bump photos lined up for my 31 week post as I wasn't very good at taking them this week. I hope you enjoyed reading xx

29 Week Pregnancy Update!

There really isn't a moment now that I'm not aware of my pregnancy. In weeks gone by I could go about my business and momentarily forget I'm pregnant, just going about my day with loads of energy. But now, the bump is big and the baby is moving around like crazy! Things that were once easy have become hard. Shaving my legs has to be done sitting down in the bath and I can no longer get to my toes to paint my toenails. Breathing has even become a big job... I'm starting to run out of room in my abdomen and if I laugh or lay down I often get shortness of breath. All this and I'm still loving being pregnant! For me it's a beautiful time of anticipation, excitement and wonderment. Don't get me wrong, I am nervous about labour and birth, the first few weeks of sleep deprivation and learning to look after our baby, but the excitement about meeting our little one by far overrides the nerves.

We had a little shopping trip this week and brought a few more bits and pieces for the baby. I am planning to breast feed but may go with a formula dream feed during the night or express some milk to give in a bottle so Mr P can help with the odd feed, so we brought a set of Dr Brown's bottles. We have been recommended these colic reducing bottles by friends and they have great reviews. We also brought a steriliser for the bottles and cleaning utensils, a padded nappy changing matt to go on top of the dresser in our bedroom, and a few more new born one pieces which were on my earlier wishlist post. We ordered a simple white moses basket and sheets from John Lewis and a Prince Lionheart white noise bear which we hope will help baby Paicey (and us!) get a good night sleep listening to sounds of the womb.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was looking forward to starting pregnancy yoga. I've since been taking a class for the past 3 weeks and its really enjoyable. I sometimes don't feel like going as I'm getting tired around that time of the day but it is so good and refreshing once I am there. We do a lot of stretching, light yoga poses, breathing and pelvic floor exercises which will be beneficial during labour. The instructor is a gorgeous woman who has a lot of energy and loves to talk about pregnancy and babies. It may not be for everyone but we focus on our babies and send love and positive energy to them during the class, which I love. It feels wonderful to stretch out my body in a safe way for pregnancy and learning the breathing techniques feels empowering in the lead up to labour. Its also nice to be in a room full of other pregnant woman and have a chat afterwards about how they are feeling.

We have been undecided on whether we should move from our 2 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom once baby arrives as we like to have a spare room for family to stay when visiting from Australia. We think we have found the perfect solution as we love our little house and have renovated every single room in the 3 years we have lived here so are quite attached. So this week we had a few building companies come over and provide quotes to add another floor and create a master bedroom with ensuite and dressing area in our loft space. I think we are going to go with this option so it is quite exciting, however the 8 -10 week building time will not be quite as exciting!

On Friday Mr P, the bump and I ventured out for dinner on opening night of a new restaurant that opened up on the lovely Kingston river front. We were lucky enough to be invited to sample their delights free of charge and had the yummiest food and drinks. My mocktails were so divine I didn't even miss not having alcohol! Check out Busaba Eathai Here for their yummy menu and locations. I wore a pre pregnancy dress of mine that really revealed the bump which I was a little self conscious about at first, but we had lots of smiles and well wishes on our night out.

Next week I am off to the doctors to get a Whooping cough vaccination so wish me luck on that one. I can't believe i'll be 30 weeks next week! Have a great week x

Baby bump stepping out for dinner at 29 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

27 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: I'm 28 weeks and 3 days along, so I am running late on my weekly update.

Symptoms:  I have just started to get uncomfortable as my belly is huge! Its probably not that big but it sure feels that way to me. Just sitting on the sofa I find it hard to get comfy as if I sit forward it doesn't give my bump enough room and if I lay back I feel crushed and like I'm not getting enough oxygen. Plenty of Braxton Hicks contractions where my tummy goes into a hard ball. These are painless but still uncomfortable. Braxton Hicks are just practise contractions to get your body ready for the big birth day. Overall I feel happy and content with not many ailments to complain about so I feel very lucky as everything is going along swimmingly.

Sleep:  I'm still sleeping really well. I wake up often to change from my right side to my left or vice versa and then I need to adjust my huge pregnancy pillow but I fall straight back to sleep. I'm very tired in the mornings and sometimes get up to go to the bathroom and have breakfast and then lay back down. Life is very relaxed at the moment but I know that in a few short months I won't be able to sleep in so I am making the absolute most out of it.

Weight Gain: I'm up just under 9kg which is around 19.5 lbs. I've noticed that this is not all baby as my upper arms and legs are a bit fuller than they used to be, but i'm ok with it and don't feel like I will have a problem loosing the weight in the months after our baby arrives.

Food:  I'm still so hungry all the time. It is recommended that you eat 6 small meals a day at this point to aid the body in digestion which has slowed down due to pregnancy, but I've still just been having my normal sized 3 meals. I'm often starving in between meals and even after I've eaten sometimes. We've started making fruit smoothies in between meals and having lots of apples, raspberries and strawberries. I'm craving fruit lately as I've been eating a lot of it which is always a good thing. We've been making sure we cook fish a couple of times a week so the baby gets all the Omegas it needs for healthy brain development. That being said, I definitely crave chocolate and Ice cream the most above everything else. I was desperate for an Ice cream tonight but Mr P wouldn't go to the corner store for me as he is trying to be good with his own intake. The rugby season has just finished so he really needs to watch what he eats for the off season. Needless to say I was very annoyed and settled for an apple instead!

Movement:  Such strong and lovely movements all day long. Lots of kicking, squirming, rolling and pressing. Sometimes so strong it startles me. We've not had too much luck with getting Mr P involved in feeling the movement as every time he tries to feel my tummy, baby Paicey becomes quiet again.

Belly Button: Its a half innie, half outie! The top half has popped right out with the bottom half still in.

Stretch Marks:  Still remaining stretch mark free on my belly (please long may it continue), but just last night I noticed some tiny ones on the underside of my boob on the left side. We went out today and brought some Mama Mio pregnancy boobtube lotion, so I will be routinely applying this along with the Mama Mio tummy butter twice a day to try and avoid any more.

Wedding rings:  Still on. And only getting tight when it gets really warm which isn't too often here in London. We had some gorgeous weather this week and only for a few hours were they feeling very tight.

Baby's Gender:  Still unknown of course! I'm feeling so curious especially with all this movement and my belly getting so big now. I just can't wait to find out if we are parents to a boy or a girl when baby Paicey arrives. So exciting!

Bump:  Getting very round and hard. The photo below was taken for my sister and wasn't intended for the blog so please excuse my outfit!

27 weeks belly. Please excuse my comfy outfit!