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You are here: Home / MOTHERHOOD / Blogger Bump Club Week 11 #BlogBumpClub

Blogger Bump Club Week 11 #BlogBumpClub

July 24, 2014 by Molly 21 Comments

Blogger Bump Club

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has just wanted to get NAKED this week?! Blimey, being pregnant in this hot weather is doing my cankles no good. Aside from that, I can’t believe it’s now week 11 of the #BlogBumpClub. Apologies for my tardiness this week – today we have been mainly doing this:

At the beach

Today marked the first day of the summer holidays for us (although Frog has her pre-school leaver’s service tomorrow which I will inevitably cry at) and it means SIX WHOLE WEEKS of the NLM – a teacher – being at home with us. Hurrah! So after a hospital appointment for Frog’s leg we hot-footed it to the beach to do some physio in the sea.

Although Frog has now had her cast off for a whole week she’s still not putting any weight on her “bad” leg, meaning I’ve still had to carry her around in this boiling heat, which has been tough. Today’s X-Ray showed the bone has fully healed and the physio thinks her lack of weight-bearing is mainly down to being scared. She has another physio session on Monday and we’ve been instructed to get her in the water as much as possible, which is fine by me because the water is COOL and I am HOT.

If you’re suffering with the heat then I can thoroughly recommend bobbing around in the cool water (be it swimming pool or sea) for a bit to feel a million times better. By the time I got out of the water my cankles were almost non-existent. Amazing.

The rest of the week has mainly been spent wearing as few clothes as possible…

30 weeks pregnant bump

I even opted for one of my pre-pregnancy bikinis today at the beach because it was too hot even for my maternity tankini!

In true sod’s law fashion, I’ve also had a cold for the last couple of days. Every sneeze has been like a game of pelvic floor Russian roulette and, I’ll be honest, I’ve not won every round (tmi – sorry).

Aside from the cold and the cankles though, I’m feeling pretty good. Knowing we now have six weeks of fun helps. With the NLM at home it means the work / mum juggle is a lot easier, plus much of my work scales back over the summer holidays anyway. Win.

I’ve also been getting very excited about our own arrival in the autumn after seeing the adorable snaps of Chelle’s (of Unique & Chic) newborn son. Congratulations on the latest #BlogBumpClub baby Chelle!

Link Up!

How’s your week been? Anyone else have the urge to get naked and go and find a nudist beach somewhere? Just me?!

Link up to this week’s #BlogBumpClub with your latest pregnancy post and I can promise friendly comments and cankle chat. You can also get involved on Twitter using the hashtag #BlogBumpClub. You’ll find plenty of chat over there about pregnancy symptoms, great pregnancy products and general sympathising over cankles and the like.

Don’t forget to grab the badge below to display on your own blog so your readers can find out about us – the more the merrier. Plus, if you tweet me a link to your post with the #BlogBumpClub hashtag I’ll be sure to RT it for you too. I’m @mollyjforbes on Twitter.

 

Mother's Always Right

Filed Under: MOTHERHOOD Tagged With: Blog Bump Club, cankles, heat and pregnancy, Pregnancy, pregnancy in the summer

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Comments

  1. Kelly says

    July 29, 2014 at 10:41 am

    *waves*

    First time linking up – hope you don’t mind but I’ve linked my announcement post from a couple of weeks ago as I haven’t written one yet this week 🙂

    I am with you on the weather!! I’m only 19 weeks but have never felt more uncomfortable in the heat! I’m usually so cold blooded and wear my coat even in the height of summer but this pregnancy lark is hot work!!

    Going for a swim is a fab idea! I may have to jump head first into the lake next to us if it doesn’t cool down soon!

    x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 29, 2014 at 6:37 pm

      Yay! Another new #BlogBumpClub blogger – you’re very welcome! Congratulations on your pregnancy – popping over now to check out your post. Lovely to have you here and hopefully see you next week! x

      Reply
  2. @goriami says

    July 28, 2014 at 7:33 am

    Oh to wear a bikini.. I have envy! x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:34 pm

      I wouldn’t have envy – the rest of the beach was probably wincing but it was far too hot to wear anything else. My husband assured me there were blokes on the beach with bigger beer bellies than my own pregnant bump and said no one gave a toss what I wore, so I just got on with it!

      Reply
  3. Melaina25 says

    July 26, 2014 at 4:15 pm

    We went to the outdoor pool in Gourock yesterday and it was heavenly!

    ?Transatlantic Blonde?

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:34 pm

      Sounds perfect – outdoor pools are the way to go at this time of year!

      Reply
  4. ghostwritermummy says

    July 26, 2014 at 9:16 am

    Happy 30 weeks!! You’re looking fab, I must say. And I feel for you in this heat, its really not so bad for me being only 24 weeks. But I know I’m going to struggle in Sicily in a couple of weeks. Not sure I’ll be brave enough for a bikini though!!
    x x x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:35 pm

      Ah but you’ll be on holiday so won’t have to do anything! I love the sunshine and the summer weather, but it’s only really enjoyable when you’re big and pregnant when you don’t have to do anything in it. If you can sit around, swim and eat lovely food all day long then you’re onto a winner!

      Reply
  5. Milly says

    July 26, 2014 at 9:06 am

    My week has also been insanely hot and no sign of that changing! – Trying very hard not to complain as am a sun lover – but in combination with the bump I’m starting to feel like a human oven.

    Good news about Frog’s X-Ray … and just in time to enjoy the long Summer together!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:36 pm

      It is tricky when it’s so hot – as much as I love the heat I’ve definitely done my fair share of moaning recently. If my feet weren’t so puffy I don’t think it would have been so bad!

      Reply
  6. Oh So Gawjess says

    July 25, 2014 at 7:40 pm

    Oh I know the naked longing! I actually make the husbands byttie every morning totally starkers – it aint pretty but needs must! LOL

    My link up post will come in particularly useful with all the naked-ness!

    xXx

    Reply
    • Oh So Gawjess says

      July 25, 2014 at 7:41 pm

      *butties!

      LOL

      Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:36 pm

      Good for you – and you’re right, it did come in useful! x

      Reply
  7. Rachel @ Parenthood Highs and Lows says

    July 25, 2014 at 8:55 am

    I love your dress! We live no where near the sea (couldn’t get much further away in Birmingham!) So making do with cool showers!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:37 pm

      Ah cool showers and constant trips to the fridge work just as well too. The dress is a pre-pregnancy stretchy number from Sainsbury’s of all places!

      Reply
  8. Caroline (Becoming a SAHM) says

    July 25, 2014 at 8:00 am

    Oh it is so hot isn’t it? So uncomfy being pregnant in this heat, and the nights, aaaargh! Definitely trying to wear as little as possible! My physio was asking if I had been wearing my tubigrip support (which goes from my upper thighs all the way to my ribs) and erm in this heat, no! Way too hot and itchy for that!! Loving the sneezing comments bless you, get those pelvic floor exercises going hehe I think most preggo ladies can relate to that! Glad to hear Frig’s cast is off, and the swimming sounds lovely! 🙂 xx

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:38 pm

      Ooh that tubigrip sounds horrendous in this heat. Definitely don’t blame you for not wanting to wear it when it’s a gazillion degrees outside!

      Reply
  9. Jodie says

    July 24, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    I’ve been sneezing like a gooden’ the past two days. Oh and no, you are not alone at all!! I’ve been spending most of my days at home wearing just my pants.

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 28, 2014 at 10:38 pm

      Yay to living in pants in the summer. We should start some sort of pregnant women naked pants commune… or something.

      Reply
  10. Carie says

    July 24, 2014 at 8:30 pm

    I am so completely and utterly with you on wanting to wear as little as humanely possible at the moment! I spent a whole afternoon last week sat in the paddling pool at my inlaws and it was bliss – I can only wish for being nearer the sea, it would just be bliss to go for a wallow in the nice cold water!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      July 24, 2014 at 8:38 pm

      I think I may spend the rest of the summer in the sea Carie – I love the heat but blimey it’s hard work when you’ve got to lug around a big old bump with you! x

      Reply

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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INSTAGRAM

Dear PE teachers (and everyone), don’t do this 💔
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If you’re a PE teacher and you’re interested in engaging more kids in class then lose the diet culture and body shaming messaging - even if it’s meant in jest. Research shows kids who feel comfortable in their body are more likely to take part in sports, and movement is for ALL bodies, not just the kids with super athletic toned ones. 
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Want more insight and help with this stuff? Sign up to a Body Happy Kids workshop - we’ve got you. Oh, and read Train Happy by @tallyrye in the meantime.
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And parents - if your kids experience this type of messaging in their school setting absolutely challenge it. We’ve got a template letter on the #FreeFromDiets website you can tweak and a downloadable info pack about the workshops you can send to your school if you’d like them to sign up. Just hit the Workshops link in my bio and scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
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Creating a body happy setting can: 
⚡️increase engagement in class 
⚡️increase engagement in movement 
⚡️increase academic attainment 
⚡️increase happiness, confidence and overall wellbeing
⚡️help kids be more likely to engage in health promoting behaviours 
(And that’s just for starters).
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PS. I’m not coming for teachers - my husband is one. BUT research shows weight bias is often more common in PE teachers than other subject areas so this is a conversation worth having. 
#BodyHappyKids
I turn 37 in three weeks. When I was younger I use I turn 37 in three weeks. When I was younger I used to think 37 was old. It was “grown-up”, boring, over-the-hill. 
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By the time you were 37 you had your life figured out, wore sensible clothes and had waved goodbye to the fun stuff. 
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It’s no surprise I thought that really. Women aged 37 and over - particularly mums - were invisible. The only representations of older women on screen were the matriarchs. Ad campaigns and magazines featured young women in their “prime” (side note: 🤮 hate that phrase - what does “prime” even mean? We’re not cuts of meat. “Prime” baby making age? Is making babies all we’re good for?!)
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There was no space for any other version of women over 35. Women over 35 weren’t playful, fun, adventurous, sexual, curious. Women over 35 were Responsible, Sensible, Dutiful.
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Well that’s not what 37 is going to look like for me. Sure I do school runs and meet deadlines and wash smelly socks. But I also play and dance and adventure and enjoy my body. I feel like I’m just getting going to be honest. 
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37 is going to be a big year. I’m excited. I’m ready. And I’m certainly not invisible. Bring it on.
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#BirthdayCountdown #MumsGoneWild
Every year @GirlGuiding publishes something called Every year @GirlGuiding publishes something called the Girls’ Attitudes Survey. It’s a big piece of research into the thoughts and feelings of the girls in their community and gives an insight into some of the things that are important to girls and young women in the UK today. 
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The early findings of the 2020 survey have been released and the headline is (surprise, surprise) girls feel under intense pressure to look a certain way and it’s damaging their confidence and wellbeing. 
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Here are some of the stats:
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⚡️80% of girls and young women have considered changing how they look. 
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⚡️51% of girls aged 7-10 believe women are judged more on what they look like than what they can do (this figure is up from 35% in 2016).
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There’s also the finding that two thirds of girls support legislation to stop them seeing ads for diet products and weight loss clubs. 
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It makes for pretty devastating reading but is worth looking at, particularly if you have a daughter - I’ll link to the early findings in my Stories and the full report will be out next month.
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These girls are telling us not only do they feel this intense pressure to look a certain way, but that it’s causing them pain. They are telling us they don’t want the pressure, the ads, the constant barrage of negativity making them feel insecure about their appearance and their body. It’s costing them their wellbeing, confidence and health. 
.
It’s time to listen.
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Sign the #FreeFromDiets petition. Tell your kids’ school about the Body Happy Kids Workshop for teachers. Call out diet culture when you see it (particularly when it comes for your kids). There are more resources in my bio as well as a post on media literacy further down my grid too. It doesn’t have to be this way. 💕✨ #BodyHappyKids
My babies started Year 1 & Year 6 today and as I w My babies started Year 1 & Year 6 today and as I waved them off to school after months of being home, it got me thinking about how my relationship with their first home has changed: my body. ❤️
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I have thin privilege but I’ve still often felt like my body was “wrong”. Why? Because like many of us I live in a society that taught me to fear fatness and idolise thinness from an early age. 
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Internalised fatphobia ran so deep that even after my body performed its most miraculous feat of my life - growing and birthing a human - I feared the softness of my belly.
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I justified the internalised fat phobia by telling myself it was about health, believing that health was a simplified concept I could control and monitor by a number on the scales. 
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And even when I started to suspect diets weren’t healthy I still failed to recognise the total system of oppression that diet culture is, how it harms so very many people including children, how it creates a culture where discriminating against people over their weight is seen as acceptable under the guise of health concern.
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I believe we will never end body-based oppression until we do the internal work too, rejecting diet culture & internalised fat phobia. Then we can challenge the health “facts” we’re sold by a multi billion £ industry, and investigate why we’re so ready to accept government diet culture infused health policy when we’re quick to question other policies.
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It starts with us showing body acceptance to our children, teaching them ALL bodies are good bodies, giving them the tools to question anyone who says otherwise. 
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This is not just about raising children at peace in their body. It’s about raising children who grow to challenge a system that harms us all, but particularly those in marginalised bodies. 
.
For me, it started with exploring my feelings about my babies’ first home. ❤️
A little story about 🩸periods🩸 and intuitive A little story about 🩸periods🩸 and intuitive movement and diet culture - here’s the headline: DIET CULTURE MESSES UP OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR BODY AND THIS HARM RUNS DEEP.
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Let me explain. 
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This was me last week. We hiked up a hill and when we got to the top the sky turned a murky shade of grey. Within seconds we were being pelted by hail and rain. It was GLORIOUS. I felt ALIVE.
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Not so this week. Because this week I got my period. And instead of relaxing into it, being gentle with myself, I battled it. I got frustrated with myself when exhaustion hit and my brain felt soupy. I tried to dig deep to find my spark, my energy, I felt guilt at missing swim sessions I’d booked. 
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Why? Because diet culture runs deep. I examined it and realised I was feeling guilt at what I’d told myself I “should” be doing, rather than what my body *actually* needed. “No one regrets a workout! It’ll pep you up! Energise you!” Said the voice. But my body was bleeding and I was tired to my bones. I didn’t feel like it. And I felt like I was letting some invisible person down. 
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Last night I gave myself permission to be gentle. Cancelled all my swim sessions for a couple of days. Had a bath and put on my comfiest PJs. Turned off my laptop and phone, watched a film and had an early night. It’s what my body needed, and once I actually listened to it I felt so much better. 
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Embracing the seasons of my cycle and going with my natural energy levels is how I’m reclaiming my relationship with my body, I’ve decided. For me, this is the last internal bastion of rebellion against diet culture. And it’s (literally) bloody liberating 🩸⚡️💥
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#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement #DevonIsHeaven #PeriodPower #WeBleed
No child comes fresh out the womb doubting their b No child comes fresh out the womb doubting their body. But, little by little, the messages come.
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Some of the messages may be from what they see online on TV and in magazines. Some of them may even come from the people who love and care for them - their friends, parents, grandparents, teachers and even doctors. Some of the messages are blatant and some are more insidious.
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It’s not hopeless though. Here are some things you can do, right now:
✨ Speak to yourself with kindness or use neutral language about your own body in front of your kids.
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✨Call out the messages when you see them - point them out and talk about what they’re promoting, and show your kids the other perspective. This is called media literacy and I’ve got a post further down my grid with lots more info on this.
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✨ Teach your kids that beauty and health don’t just look one way, and that regardless of the outside shell of our body all humans deserve respect, empathy and love - and that includes self-love. (Some mantras that I use with my kids to help drive this message home - ALL bodies are GOOD bodies 💕 It’s not your job to be pretty 💕 Your body is YOUR OWN.)
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✨ Seek out wider representation, whether that’s through books, social media accounts, positive TV shows and films, it all matters.
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✨ Set clear boundaries - if you have a family member or friend who constantly discusses diets, body shames themselves or makes comments about other people’s bodies (and maybe even your child’s) have a conversation with them about why this isn’t OK. Explain that little ears are always listening and you’re working hard to raise your kids to have a happy, healthy relationship with their body. 
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For more resources on this check out the links in my bio ❤️
#BodyHappyKids
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[📸 My one day old daughter’s foot in my hand, taken in 2010, by @carolinepalmerphoto]
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