Category Archives: Pregnancy

Pregnancy

Introducing The Blogger Bump Club #BlogBumpClub

15 Thursday May 2014

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Blogger Bump Club
I can’t be the only pregnant woman to develop a serious case of the nosies when it comes to other peoples’ pregnancies.
Whether it’s watching One Born Every Minute, reading pregnancy-related articles in Mother & Baby Magazine or simply chatting with other pregnant mums in real life and online, I can’t seem to get enough of the bump chat.
There’s something really comforting to know other women are going through the same experiences and can relate to weird cravings, getting up five times a night for a wee or simply worrying about how you’ll cope once the baby comes. Of course I realise this is all probably pretty tedious stuff for my non-pregnant mates (and husband), so I try to minimise the bump chat – or at least contain it – to others in the same bump “condition”.
Blogger Bump Club Banner
That’s why I thought it would be pretty cool to create an online antenatal club of sorts, for other pregnant bloggers to link up their posts about pregnancy each week, so we can “share the journey” (*cringey soppy wording*) with each other.

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How will I cope with two?

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Family, Motherhood, Pregnancy

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Bump at 20 weeks

After settling my almost four year old back to sleep at 3am this morning I found myself lying awake staring into the darkness. I could hear my child’s soft snores and feel this new life wriggling around inside my belly. And it hit me: how the hell will I cope with two?!

Have you ever noticed how everything seems worse in the middle of the night?

My mind raced. My breathing grew shallow. I could feel myself on the verge of a full blown panic attack – I haven’t suffered one of these in the last seven years.  Continue reading »

Pregnancy: my second trimester saviours

12 Monday May 2014

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second trimester

Somehow I appear to have reached the magic halfway mark of this pregnancy without even realising it. Just goes to show how different pregnancy is when you have a young child to care for amidst the usual juggling of work and family life. This one is flying by!

While I continue to feel tired in the evenings, I’m pretty sure this is just a symptom of said juggling – when I was pregnant with Frog there was nothing stopping me from putting my feet up after a day at work, after all. This is something I need to keep reminding myself of in order to keep the temptation to be constantly doing stuff, working, doing more stuff, at bay.

As with the first trimester, there are a few things that are making pregnant life a lot easier at the moment.  Continue reading »

On accepting (and trying to love) my changing body shape

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Health, Pregnancy

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I think it’s one of life’s great ironies that the two periods in my adulthood when I have treated my body as a temple have been when my stomach has absolutely no chance of getting any flatter.

With this pregnancy, just as when I was pregnant with Frog, I’ve found myself eating more healthily, getting more exercise and making sure I go to bed at a reasonable hour. It seems I need the excuse of growing another human to take proper care of myself.

I’ve never been a massive health freak. I find the gym boring and conversations about diets dull. At university I joined the Yoga club and did three sessions of Yoga a week (the relaxation bit at the end was my favourite), along with enduring a regular visit to the gym to try and balance out my excessive student alcohol consumption. But that’s as far as it went. Continue reading »

More baby confusion

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Pregnancy, Seasonal

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“Mummy, is it Easter soon?” asked my three and three quarter year old at the breakfast table yesterday morning.

I saw this as a good opportunity to have a Meaningful Conversation and impart some of my extensive knowledge.

“Yes, and do you know what happens at Easter?” I replied.

The answer was a predictable one, mainly revolving around chocolate and holidays. Determined to press on, I mentioned Jesus and the idea of celebrating new life. We’re not a religious family, but I thought it important my almost four year old had some idea of the story behind Easter.  Continue reading »

Sorry for the bump pic

27 Thursday Mar 2014

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13 weeks pregnancy bump

I first encountered the “bump pic” when I was pregnant with my now three and three quarter year old daughter, Frog. I was browsing something online (probably, “Can I STILL not eat blue cheese when pregnant?”) when I came across a gallery of bumps. Not celebrity bumps either, just normal people bumps. It was a revelation. I laughed. “Why are people taking pictures of their preggo bumps?!” I wondered aloud to my colleagues in the newsroom.

Of course I’d seen the Demi Moore bump pics. Those tastefully shot naked pregnancy photographs displaying her huge belly in all its glory. I found that kind of funny too, although I can’t put my finger on why. Maybe it’s because, in my non-parent, non-pregnant state I didn’t really see what the big deal was. Are we supposed to bow down in amazement at this beautiful bump? Should this woman be placed on a special pedestal of awe just because she’s got a baby inside her tummy? I didn’t get it.  Continue reading »

Netflix and the first trimester endurance test

24 Monday Mar 2014

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Netflix and the first trimester

So far this pregnancy has seen me give up wine (sob), bread (double sob) and milk. But that’s not all. I’ve also given up late nights and adjusted the hours I spend sitting in front of my computer working. Gone are the 11pm marathon I’ve-Got-To-Meet-This-Deadline evenings and in are early nights and evenings wallowing in the bath.

The first trimester hasn’t been a particularly easy one. I’ve had horrible sickness, extreme exhaustion and felt generally crap. I wrote in my last post about some of the things that have helped, but I want to dedicate a special place in my heart and on my blog to one particular first trimester saviour: Netflix.  Continue reading »

My first trimester saviours

21 Friday Mar 2014

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first trimester saviours

They say no two pregnancies are the same and, so far, this is proving very true in my case.

With Frog, I spent the first trimester utterly exhausted. That kind of tiredness that just seeps right into your bones and leaves you able to do nothing but sleep. Although I spent many evenings feeling nauseous, there wasn’t actually too much sickness. I just felt bloated, tired and generally crap.

With this pregnancy I’ve felt all that and more. The biggest difference is the sickness. I’ve never experienced anything like it. From the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until the moment I closed them at night I battled against extreme waves of nausea. It meant there’ve been many afternoons when I’ve had to cancel plans to take Frog out because I physically can’t be more than two metres from the toilet.  Continue reading »

“Is it a pet Mummy?”

18 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Family, Pregnancy

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So it looks like Frog has fully embraced the notion that, around the end of September, she is going to be a big sister.

She has the “big sister” part nailed. She also seems to understand the fact the baby is in my tummy, although her constant, “Your tummy is a bit fat now Mummy” this morning hasn’t done anything to assuage my insecurities over the alarming rate my waist is expanding.

Judging by a couple of her questions before heading off to pre-school though, there are still a few issues we need to iron out.  Continue reading »

Keeping broodiness in check

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

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I was writing a blog post for a company the other day about pregnancy. As I scrawled through some suitable bump images to include in the post, the (self-proclaimed) Nothern Love Machine looked over my shoulder and laughed.

“There’s nothing attractive about pregnant women is there?” he chuckled.

My scowl made him quickly back-track, as he was actually looking at a picture of my own bump, taken just over two years ago now. But, equally, I completely disagreed with him. Continue reading »