Blogger Bump Club Week 7 #BlogBumpClub

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Blogger Bump Club

This week I’ve realised just how different this pregnancy is to when I was carrying Frog. It’s not the fact I’m far more knackered, already having a young child to run around after and juggling motherhood with work and general life stuff. It’s the fact I now blog.

Without wanting to sound like a total blogging cliche, starting this blog has had a huge effect on my life. I’ve learned new skills, made new friends (real life friends who I see and spend time with – not just Twitter mates!) and managed to gain new freelance work from it too. Who knew, when I trained to be a journalist 8 years ago that blogging would become a valid string to my freelance bow?!

When I was pregnant with Frog I did all the usual things: went to an antenatal class, Googled stuff about pregnancy, got excited about buying baby clothes. This time, I’m doing all that and more. As well as the odd Facebook status update (sorry non-pregnant friends – I know, I’m a baby bore) I have this pregnancy documented good and proper. Continue reading »

Dressing the bump for summer

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Dressing the bump for summer

One of my favourite things about being pregnant is indulging in a brand new wardrobe. I know it’s frivolous and maternity clothes aren’t forever, but if I can find something to wear that helps me feel like less of a hippo and more of a graceful earth mother, then I’m OK with that.

My main problem with dressing a bump is my own warped perception of my body. In my head, I am Gwen Stefani or Gisele – lithe, thin and with no evidence I am pregnant other than a perfectly round, football-shaped bump perched beautifully on my middle. The reality, however, is somewhat different.

I never looked like Gwen Stefani or Gisele before I was pregnant so goodness knows why I suddenly think I’ll look like them at six months gone. Instead, I am a great deal shorter shorter at 5ft four and three quarters (don’t forget the three quarters) and two dress sizes bigger, at 10-12 rather than 6-8. Continue reading »

Labour and kids: to sugar-coat or tell the truth?

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baby kicks

Before I begin, this is not a post about Ed Miliband, or indeed any member of his party.

I wish. For that explanation would be far, far, easier.

“Mummy, how is your baby going to come out of your tummy”, asked my almost-four year old the other day.

Like all questions of this nature, she threw it in casually when we were doing something totally unrelated. A bit like, “Can I have some chocolate buttons? Oh – and where do you go when you die?” Continue reading »

Do you Child-Proof?

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The first time we considered actually child-proofing our home, our daughter had already reached the age of 19 months old. We lived in a charming cottage that was 500 years old, complete with slate floors, tiles, lots of sharp edges and a rickety staircase. It wasn’t until she nearly fell down those rickety stairs that we invested in a stair gate.

Our plug sockets were uncovered, our coffee table remained a hazard, in all its modern, sharp-cornered glory and don’t even mention the lack of a fire guard on the huge log-burner.

Looking back, it was a mixture of luck, constant vigilance and much “No, no, no! Hot, hot, hot!” that kept our bouncing baby safe in her first few years of life. Continue reading »

Blogger Bump Club Week 6 #BlogBumpClub

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Blogger Bump Club

This week has been one of those weeks where I’ve been torn between doing the best thing for my bump and doing the best thing for my child. It’s reminded me how different pregnancy is when you already have a child or children to look after (something I wrote about in more detail over at Babycentre this week).

Anyway, after an accident on a trampoline, we now have an almost-four year old with a broken leg who’ll be in cast for at least four weeks. It means there’s much carrying around and lifting, things I’m sure aren’t always the best for the bump, but I don’t have much of an alternative option at the moment (Stannah stair lifts are out of our price range!).

Besides the cast drama it’s been a good week bump-wise. No more bleeds and, despite the lugging around of my surprisingly heavy child, I’m feeling in pretty good shape. There are a few products that have helped me feel better recently – if you’re in need of a lift you might find this post useful.

I’ve also been attempting to take a few more photos of the bump this time around, mainly involving hastily-snapped bump selfies in less-than-glamorous places. Excuse the awful hair, black bra with white top and loo roll in the background of this pic taken last night. I was just about to get in my PJs, so I’m not exactly looking my best… Continue reading »

The cast diaries

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Leg in cast

I’m not being a drama queen when I say the last few days have been intense. Incredibly, stressfully, sometimes tear-jerkingly intense.

In fact, if it wasn’t for my parents whisking Frog and I off to their house for the week, I’m not sure how I would have coped. I imagine the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine would have returned from work and found me rocking in a corner somewhere, my broken child crying even louder than her mother.

I expect no one would describe having a child in a cast as “fun”. Add being 25 weeks pregnant to the mix and you have a whole new level of physical challenge, carrying an almost-four year old around in a heavy leg cast while feeling particularly bulky yourself. And add the demands of work on top of that and you get a picture of where I’ve been at stress-wise the past few days.

I didn’t start this post to moan though. Well, kind of. But I mean, I know there are plenty more people far worse off than us and, ultimately, a broken leg will mend, so we are lucky.  Continue reading »

The month of June

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[This is a sponsored post]

Blue skies

June is an important month in our house. It’s the month of our daughter’s birthday, which also means it’s the month our lives changed forever.

Over the past week it’s felt like summer has officially arrived. We’ve had more blue skies than grey and, at times, the sun has been positively HOT. It all makes me yearn for a cold Pimms and a sunny pub garden, if I’m honest.

It’s funny, because at this time of year I always get flashbacks to the couple of weeks before Frog was born. I can still vividly remember bumbling around our cottage, cleaning things, hanging up baby-grows, well and truly ready for our baby to make an appearance.  Continue reading »

My healthy pregnancy addictions

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Bump

Being pregnant when you already have a child to look after is a very different ball game to first time around. There’s no time to Google each stage of pregnancy, for starters. I also find it really tricky to squeeze in the same amount of exercise I did when pregnant with Frog – mainly due to work and mum duties taking up every spare minute of my day. But there are a few things helping me to feel pretty good at the moment. It’s fair to say these are my healthy pregnancy addictions.  Continue reading »

5 things more fun than having a child in a cast

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Child in cast

It turns out that overly bendy ankles, almost-four year olds and trampolines don’t mix. It also turns out that pregnancy, work deadlines and sleep deprivation don’t make me a role-model when it comes to nursing a sick child.

On Saturday, Frog broke her leg in two places, meaning she’ll be in cast for at least four weeks – just enough time to cram in her fourth birthday party in cast. Great timing.

We’re currently holed up at my parents’ house, so I have someone to help me carry my surprisingly heavy, cast-ridden little girl around during the day until she gets used to living with one working leg.

It also means I can still attempt to get some work done in between carrying my fiercely independent child to the toilet, fetching her snacks, keeping boredom at bay, administering doses of Calpol and being on hand for regular cuddles when the pain gets too bad.  Continue reading »

Blogger Bump Club Week 5 #BlogBumpClub

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Blogger Bump Club

Somehow it’s Thursday already and I’m now approaching the 25 week pregnancy mark. I’m becoming convinced this means I am stuck in an alternative universe where this pregnancy just whooshes by without me even realising it.

This week has, unlike the last one, been much calmer. Work hasn’t been so manic and I’ve even managed to squeeze in a few episodes of the new series of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. (Seriously, I don’t know how I got through my last pregnancy without the companion that is Netflix.)

Bump-wise, I’m feeling about a million times better. There’ve been no more scary situations *touch wood* involving trips to the hospital and the baby continues to make his or her presence known with many a kick. I’ve noticed the kicks get stronger when I’m sitting down or in the bath, and it’s been lovely for the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine to feel more kicks too. Continue reading »