Autumn Lust

Yep thats right, an Autumn lust post already. We've barely made it out of my favourite month (my birthday month if curious at all) and i'm already thinking about purchasing some winter warmers for little Noah. Because Noah was a July baby and we shockingly actually had a decent-ish summer he spent most of his days in vests i'm quite excited to get some 'proper' little boy clothes on him. Heres a snapshot of some pieces that i will definitely be purchasing from Mamas and Papas... Aaah cute little duck jumper.

Mummy must haves

Below I've compiled a few of my mummy must haves. I know that everyones different but these are just a few of the things that i have found to be saviours after becoming a new mum again.

1. Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine: An item that seems to be on every mothers essentials list for formula fed babies. I was a bit dubious at first i thought how hard could it be to make up a bottle on the go.. well very is the answer! Safety regulations have changed so much since i had my daughter, guidelines are to make each individual bottle as needed. Gone are the (very convenient) days of  making up a few and sticking them in the fridge and warming them up as baby demanded! The Perfect Prep Machine makes up a bottle at body temperature under 2 minutes. it's especially amazing for night feeds, so much so that we've moved it to the bedroom, no more falling down stairs half asleep!

2. Muslin Squares: We've got tons as they come in handy for just about everything. The obvious purpose is for burping and wiping up little mishaps but they're also great as a light cover up in the summer, swaddling and for providing shade. i also like to lay them over Noah's changing mat so he's not startled by the cold plastic on his bottom... no one wants that having just woke up. my favourite brands have to be Aden and Anais, no surprise there then, since little royal George was spotted with them they've popped up on every savvy mums shoulder!, The Little White Company and Mark and Spencers.

3. Swing/ Bouncer (in our case both): Initially we started of with the Mothercare Bright Stripes Bouncer which is great, its cheap and cheerful and lightweight enough to take wherever needed so Noah can sit quite safely in different rooms. We were since gifted the Mamas and Papas Starlite Swing and MP3 Player. Noah wasn't a big fan of this at first which i was disappointed about. It has the softest cushioned seat i have felt on a swing so was really surprised that he didn't take to it straight away, but now he's a little older it works wonders for soothing him and helping him to nod off. I have to admit I've not yet used the MP3 feature but again as Noah gets a little older i think it will be a great feature to have.

4. V Shaped pillow: The Kit for Kids By Carla Support Pillow was originally bought for me to help me sleep when my bump got bigger, i loved it and used it every night, i even took it to the hospital with me but as with most things Noah has totally claimed it. It's great for propping him up and also helping me support him when I'm feeding an added bonus is that it comes with an all white cover too so when one is in the wash you just swap them over.

5. Sling/Wrap: I didn't think i would ever be the owner of a sling but in fact I'm the owner of two, yes they're exactly the same but I'm a girl so colour choice was a given! i bought my Liberty Sling via eBay and they've been a little godsend. they allow me to have Noah close-by and safe whilst being hands free meaning i can get stuff done.

6. Babymoov Cosysleep: The Babymoov CosySleep has been in use since day one. The CosySleep is a sleep positioner made of memory foam meaning it adapts to your babys body and helps keep them content and feel secure. The built in head positioner is supposed to prevent flat head syndrome but i bought it for the leg support which bumps up the bum a little and helps with colic and wind helping (us all!) Noah get a better nights sleep. When its not being used in his moses basket i pop it in his carrycot, i was always a little worried about having Noah in the carrycot without any support around him thinking he could slip down or be 'jiggled' about and this prevents any of that happening.

My wait is over...

Noah Benjamin finally made a very dramatic entrance into the world on 2nd July 2014 at 14.07pm weighing a healthy 8lb 15oz! I'm currently lost in my own little world amazed that I've created (another) amazing little being!

With that being said, I'm also recovering an emergency c-section so will be taking a bit of a break from the blog. I will most likely be posting lots of baby spam over on my Instagram (link above) if you ever want to check in on us.... X

41 Week Update

I apologise now for the whining to come in this post.... Enjoy!

How far along: 41 weeks and 3 days... ugghhhhh 

Total weight gain: Im not sure but im guessing ive put some one this week considering the amount of food ive demolished, im like godzilla, if godzilla was a pregnant emotional overeating wreck!

Maternity clothes: Nothing new and im so over maternity clothes. I really just want to get back into my old stuff, im not stupidly thinking i'll slip into my skinniest of skinny jeans but just a top that doesnt need an extra foot of fabric just to cover my modesty (and bump) would be nice.

Stretch marks: Blergh (that is all)

Sleep: Pregnancy insomnia - this is mother natures way of preparing you for life with a newborn baby! Aint she just something else! 

Best moment this week/Happy or Moody: If you haven't twigged by now i'm being a complete Debbie-Downer (Thanks to the Kardis for that one...) For the past two weeks ive been getting myself all worked up for these midwife appointments where i expect them to either give me a sweep to get things moving along or to give me a date to start the inducement.... neither of which have happened!
At my last appointment on Wednesday we went through the routine checks, blood pressure, heart rate, protein in the urine etc etc... it came to my least favourite part the 'checking' position of the baby. If you are or have been pregnant you will know that its pretty uncomfortable having hands prodding and poking your bump and even grabbing at baby's limbs! Ouch.
This time round we got an extra little surprise, apart from not being engaged (we expected this) he is looking breech! Ah yes that old cookie again, this was mentioned weeks if not months ago but we though he had turned! Im now booked in for a scan to check whether he's breech and depending on the outcome could also be looking at having a c-section birth... oh how i did not prepare for this. I know plenty of women go overdue but i really didn't expect to be pregnant for a possible 43 weeks.. thats nearly 10 month! Yeeezus! As soon as this little boy makes an appearance, he's grounded.

Movement:  Wriggling away, far too comfortable in there!

Food cravings: Living off of toast and jam (yum) but as mentioned above i have pretty much eaten everything in sight alongside this.

Gender: Little boy.

Labour signs: No, not even a twinge... sigh sigh and SIGH!!!

Belly button in or out: Out

Looking forward to: My scan on Tuesday, hopefully i will have had some sort of a sign before but if not at least i will (hopes and prays) have some sort of an idea what lays ahead........ Fingers Crossed!

Bump: Bumpy at 41 weeks + 2

40 Week update

How far along: 40 weeks + 6 days

Total weight gain: 29lbs so far, as long as baby isn't 10lbs of that I'm happy ;) 

I cant say whether this is a sudden boost or not, as you know I've just not been that fussed weighing myself throughout my pregnancy. i knew what weight i was at the beginning so its pretty easy to figure out an overall gain though... you know, ready for those awkward questions people ask later down the line "How much did you gain with..."

Maternity clothes: I was a little naughty and bought a couple of dresses, in my defence they were all from Primark so cheap and cheerful and secondly they are not actually maternity. I bought two dresses in my pre-baby size so they will definitely fit post-baby! the two others are actually cami-dresses which I'll be wearing as long tops, Comes to something when you have to buy a dress to wear as a top... Jeez. 

Stretch marks: Still there but i'll cope, i have bigger things on my mind like getting this baby out.

Sleep: Not sure how I'm managing to get any sleep at all in this heat. I've taken to sleeping on top of the bedding, windows open, fan on top speed and multiple bottles of water at my bedside! 

Best moment this week: I've been spending lots of time with my mum, poor mummy! When I say lots, I mean I've practically moved back home.. I tend to be there for breakfast and dinner! We went to get our nails done then she gave me a little pamper and painted my toenails at home (which I can barely see never mind reach!) I cant bare my feet being touched, hence why they had to done in the privacy of her home.. so I could muffle the shrieks of laughter - i literally break out in a sweat just thinking about it. No matter how old you are its always nice to be mothered though :)

Movement:  He's been doing plenty of wriggling, i was told to keep a close eye on movement now as the more overdue you are the higher risk of stillbirths - scary :(

Food cravings: Nothing new or exciting

Gender: Little boy.

Labour signs: No... SIGH!!!

Belly button in or out: Out

Happy or Moody: I had a bit of a wobbly week mainly because i was all set for having a sweep at my 40 week midwife appointment and was hit with the bombshell that baby wasn't even down enough to carry it out.

I was so excited as when i had one with my daughter i went into labour that night so thought i might actually have a baby in my arms come the weekend.

Looking forward to: Having this baby now!

Bump: Bumpy at 40 weeks + 3

39 Week update

How far along: 39 weeks + 5 days 

Total weight gain: I will do this....

Maternity clothes: Same as last week, I'm looking forward to post-baby wardrobe shopping rather than forking out on maternity items.

Stretch marks: Same, its always those last weeks they tend to creep up.

Sleep: Still waking up at 2am every night?!

Best moment this week: I really should write this post midweek because I've got complete baby brain and cant actually remember what I've been up to other than lounging around in the sunshine, bouncing on my birth ball, OK so not so much bouncing going on below.....

This week we finally bought baby's bouncer. We had spent weeks on end looking at different bouncers, what a minefield, and i thought travel systems were bad. i did have a couple in mind like the Stokke Steps Bouncer and the Bloom Coco Baby Lounger. i adore both especially the Bloom Coco Lounger but i thought about it logically and knowing my daughter hated her all singing and dancing bouncer i actually just went to Mothercare and picked up the most basic one i could find which was Mothercare Bright Stripes Bouncer until i knew what baby was in to (vibrations, swinging, music? who knows). Surprisingly i actually really like it too! It was always sold out online and had raving reviews, i managed to pick one up from a local branch and so far I'm impressed, i figured as long as it hold baby securely for a good few weeks then I'm happy.

Movement: Lots of squirming. From where i see him moving the most I'm also pretty sure he's still not engaged either...  arghhh.

Food cravings: Nothing new or exciting

Gender: Little boy.

Labour signs: No... SIGH!!!

Belly button in or out: Out

Happy or Moody: Still a happy chappy!

Looking forward to: My midwife appointment on Wednesday. As much as i love going to see my midwife for a nice little chatter about what a big boy he is and checking how im feeling etc etc this one will be to also do a sweep! Eeeek. i will be officially 40 weeks on the day so if things get moving (and moving QUICKLY!) could it be possible that he actually makes his way into the world ON his due date?!!! Excitttttinggggggggg!!!

Bump: Bumpy at 39 weeks

Sorry this was such a short pregnancy update (and in the nicest way i really hope its my last!) 

Come on now baby!

38 Week update

How far along: 39 weeks + 1 days (6 days to go!!!!)

Total weight gain: Promise I'll weigh myself before baby comes, all i know is I'm looking huge and have no great desire to depress myself!

Maternity clothes: Still being good an not buying anything. I CAN NOT wait to buy a post baby wardrobe though, I've seen sooooo many gorgeous pieces that i want!!! ZARA for one best watch out.

Stretch marks: The sneaky buggers got me but let's face it my life's not over and he is more than worth a couple stretch marks.

Sleep: I'm sleeping but waking up at precisely 2am and again at 5am... maybe this is my bodies way of preparing me for his routine??

Best moment this week: 

• A little shopping trip, i bought myself a few treats my new favourite lipstick and espadrilles being two of them!
• Lazy morning, Tallulah has got in to the habbit of coming up for morning cuddles which is always nice to wake up to.
• Our attempt at 'walking him out' It did absolutely nothing other than give me heartburn, but it was nice going for a walk in the fields with the fella! (and quite comical times when i attempted a few squats i bet that poor cyclist was not expecting to see that!!!)

Movement: More squirming around than kicking, I'm surprised the 'little' guy has any room in there to even attempt a kick.

Food cravings: (same old) ice-lollies and a new one is milk, not together though obviously, I find they ease the heartburn more than anything.

Gender: Little boy.

Labour signs: Nothing, zip, zilch! No braxton hicks, no tightening.... nothingggg *distraught smiley*

Belly button in or out: Out

Happy or Moody: A happy but very slow week, i'm soon going to be brain washed if i watch anymore american trash (which i secretly love, but must put a stop to!)

Looking forward to: Babbbbbbbbby, come on now!

Bump: Bumpy at 38 weeks

If you have any ideas how i can make the next week (or god forbids he goes over) more bearable please leave me a comment. let me know what you got up to if your on or have been on maternity leave :)