A Mum who wants her mum.

Sometimes in life things get very overwhelming we don’t know quite how to react to certain things happening. Unfortunally for me today is one of those days. Today is hard and to be honest all I want is a cuddle from my mum. That’s right I’m a 30 year old grown women soon to be a mum herself who just wants a cuddle from her mum. Today started out okay I had a lovely lay in then got up and had my usual bowl of coco pops and a cuppa tea put some washing on and did some housework.

Then my bump started to really ache for those non pregnant women and men out there who’s reading this imagine your insides slowly stretching to make room for a heavy bowling ball and when laying down said bowling ball moves to one side making it so uncomfortable to sleep bend down and sometimes even walk or stand. At times it can be quite unpleasant and really quite uncomfortable especially when baby decides to move around at the same time. Aswell as the tummy ache I woke up with a really sore arm. No I hadn’t slept in an awkward position before you ask ...i had my whooping cough jab yesterday and dear lord did that hurt when the nurse jabbed me! this morning I’ve woken up with a red lump where the unfortunate incident happend. I’m so tired of being poked and prodded, since getting pregnant I’ve had 6 blood tests, 2 jabs and countless urine tests. It’s actully exhausting being treated like a lab rat and for someone who has a fear of needles I feel like I've coped pretty well.

So I managed to get some housework done which felt good but I just didn’t feel myself today emotions were running high I find myself crying over stupid things like the hover not turning on or dropping something on the floor, the tiredness has set in and it’s really difficult previously being an independent person doing everything I need to do by myself to then suddenly need help putting my socks on. Being the kind of person I am I would rather struggle then ask for help, It almost feels slightly demoralising and embarrassing to ask for help doing simple day to day things and it’s only going to get worse ..

So since Mr M got home from work I have been very clingy and cuddly and not wanting to be left alone because I can feel my mood dipping. Everything seems to be moving so fast and there’s still so much left to do before the little man arrives in 11 weeks. So to break from the normal witty funny posts ive been writing recently today I openly admit I’m struggling. pregnancy is bloody hard sometimes and women don’t get nearly  enough credit for going through this, this isn’t me crying out for attention or expecting people to say oh poor you :-( im just saying it how it is the reality of what pregnancy really is. It’s Tiring painfull and emotional and relentless. Having said all this I know I am going through this for a reason and knowing its all temporary is helping me through the tough days. 11 weeks and counting until I meet my perfect little man.

At the end of the day you are never to old to want your mum. And right now I’m a mum who just wants a cuddle from her mum and I'm learning its not shameful asking for help.



Z

xxx

Confessions of a pregnant woman...

I've been struggling to think of what to write for my next blog post for a while now, then today something happened that I thought could be quite funny and embarrassing so why not write about it? so here goes...

If you'd have told me a year ago I would be comparing running a half marathon to shaving my legs at 7 months pregnant I would have laughed in your face... I'm not laughing now!
As I hadn't been swimming in a few weeks and am paying for a membership I thought I better get some use out of it so I went about my day today with swimming planned for the evening.

Swim bag packed and ready to go. OH SHIT... I need to shave my legs! the dreaded job you really cant be arsed to do during the colder months, I don't know about others but I'm lazy and shave my legs in the bath a picture I'm sure nobody wants in their head of me leg up on the side of the bath trying my hardest not to let it slip back in the bath and cause a tidal wave over me! Anyway I thought I better shave my legs as they now resemble 2 Christmas trees (No joke!) just in case I get asked to leave the pool because I'm scaring the kids.

As the shaving in the bath days are officially over for a few more months for obvious reasons I had no choice but to stand in the bath and do it. Well bugger me I could have run a half marathon easier than what was about to befall me. Have you ever tried reaching your ankles when you have a stomach the size of Santa's belly? Jesus that reach down felt like a mile. Do I call my husband to help? I cant go swimming with patchy legs! anyway I managed ( just) but after id finished I'm not going to lie I had to have a sit down I was out of breath, how had I managed to run 13.1 miles only 7 months before and not be out of breath? this baby has a lot to answer for, don't even get me started on what else needs shaving...

After the commotion in the bathroom I got ready to leave for swimming. I always put my swimming costume on under my clothes before I go just for ease really. Well to say I might need to buy a bigger one soon is a slight exaggeration... trying to pull the thing up and over my bump is a whole different kettle of fish compared to the leg incident...

managing to get it over the bump and pull the straps up over my shoulders I realise how little room there is for my boobs it seems baby is taking up most of the costume. only just managing to fit inside the thing Then the horrifying thought over comes me...

what if It splits whilst in the pool? what if my belly is so humongously huge my swimming costume actually splits and leaves me naked in a swimming pool full of people...

will I be arrested? surely they cant arrest a naked pregnant lady in distress? Na what's the actual chance this is going to happen, but maybe I should leave my towel by the side of the pool just in case?

well I can tell you I managed an hours swim and my swimming costume held everything in! PHEW!! time to buy a bigger one I think. All in all a good swim session no naked incidents and I finally have soft legs!

Z

xxx

Fun in Mum's tum

You are cordially invited to a party
At- Mums tum
Time- As soon as Mum try's to sleep
RSVP- Bump

                                                        



                                                  
Sometimes I wonder what is actually going on inside that tummy of mine, some nights it feels like baby is having an illegal rave with all his mates in there! Other nights it feels like he's in training for the London marathon               ( That's my boy!!)


Whatever he's up to in there he's having a dam good time and I don't blame him wouldn't you?... warm and snug inside mums tum growing slowly into a little lad ready to see the world very soon... 12 weeks and counting! Round about now I'm beginning to see my stomach actually move around almost like he's having a little boogie, if I sit my phone or a coke can on my tummy when I'm laying down it moves. As soon as I try to get a video of the momentous occasion thou the little bugger decides NOPE I am having none of this and he stops. I think I've got a stubborn one on my hands here!

Poor old dad has yet to feel his little one jiggle around, he sits for ages with his hands on my tum waiting for the party to start but obviously dad doesn't have an invitation to the party! Even after laying next to bump chatting away to his son he still gets nothing. I think dad needs to remember this in 18 years time when his son wants a lift to some party!

The party started up again the other day during a routine midwife appointment whilst the midwife put the Doppler on my tummy to hear baby's heartbeat he decided he didn't like this and the midwife was definitely an uninvited guest to his party because he did 2 almighty kicks at the midwife telling her to go away and leave me alone. amazingly I managed to finally get this on video! yay

I have found some tricks to get kicks ... Hot bath... the second I get in the bath off he goes doing his thing. Another great way to get some moves is drink an ice cold drink... he really shows how he can move when I drink and ice cold drink I can imagine him in there breaking out into the YMCA like an absolute lad! To be honest thou most of the time I don't have to encourage him to move because 99% of the time now he knows when mum is ready to go to sleep. That's his que to get the lads round and crank up the party.

I've found a few facts online about baby movements in the womb so id I thought id share them ...

-Did you know at 9 weeks pregnant a baby can hiccup. who knew! (I'm not surprised to be honest after all that partying he's doing!)

- At 12 weeks pregnant the baby can yawn and stretch all that growing must be a tiring business!

-At 15 weeks they can suck their thumbs of apparently their preferred hand so if you are lucky to see this in the scan you can determine weather they are right or left handed.

- Amazingly a baby sleeps for up to 40 minuets every hour whilst inside the womb! Trust me it doesn't feel like it!


Feeling baby move is honestly one of the most weird strange and amazing things all rolled into one realising there's actually a little person inside me is so weird and honestly I'm a little jealous of all the fun he's having. So whatever my baby is up to inside my tum I'm sure he is having a great time and he's entitled to after all its his house! not for long thou...



see you soon little party animal, try to keep the noise down when mum wants to sleep.


Z


xxx













  

How to grow a baby (and do it well)

The hard part is done right? all those months of relentless sex and timing ovulation hoping the husbands little swimmer makes it up the V channel and latches on to an egg to make a baby. We've all been there unless you are lucky enough to get pregnant on the first try!

so once again we find ourselves peeing on a little stick and finding out the long awaited news WE ARE PREGNANT! the jobs done now right? we just lay back and let our bodies do the baby growing. As much as this is true we also have to learn basically how to grow a baby. What could possibly go wrong?

Us women are pretty resilient and the fact that we can actually grow human life inside of us is something I thought nothing of until I fell pregnant and suddenly it dawned on me SHIT this is happening... I am growing a baby!!

Here is my experience of how to grow a baby and do it well...

The morning I found out I was pregnant was total shock and elation. off to work I went having to keep this a secret from everyone (apart from a few close twitter friends) The very first thing I remember doing is cooking breakfast for a customer as I bent down to grab a plate I thought to myself shit can I bend down ? will I harm the teiny tiny baby in my tummy. In actual fact later on I found out from the hospital and I quote " it would take getting hit by a lorry to damage the baby as its so far deep inside my womb"   so as long as you are careful don't worry too much about harming the little bean they are very well protected in there.

Its so easy to forget to look after yourself once you become a mother to be BUT... self care is one of the most important things whilst coping with growing a baby. Feel tired? take a nap. Feeling emotional? get the tissues out and have a good cry. Feeling hungry? go and buy that double chocolate fudge cake you've been eyeing up for weeks grab a fork and devour the lot without feeling guilty. For weeks I ignored my body and the signs it was sending me I tried not to cry when I felt upset. I grabbed an apple when what I really wanted was some good old chocolate cake. I denied myself the right to not feel ok and until I gave in and  had a good cry and stuck my face in a chocolate cake ( not at the same time I may add ) I began to feel like a woman coping with growing a baby and I felt human for letting myself feel my feelings. Allow yourself some luxuries every now and again because after all you wont be pregnant forever and if you are seen in costa crying into a chocolate cake you will probabley be asked to leave. Us pregnant women can get away with an awful lot!

Take note of what doctors and midwives tell you, listen to their advice nod and smile then do things your own way because they may be experts in telling you what to do but at the end of the day you know your own body if you decide to buy formula don't let anyone bully you into breast feeding, if you want to do things your own way then be your own person do what you feel is right for YOUR baby. Obsivously I don't endorse smoking or drinking whilst growing your tiny human if you need help stopping there is a number of websites to help and also speak to your doctor before its to late.


The most important part about growing a baby is love... no matter what kind of pregnancy you are having weather you are sailing through not gaining a pound and looking like a Hollywood superstar or weather you are struggling to get washed and dressed every morning and go to work looking like forrest Gump. As long as you love your baby  and love yourself that's all that matters... everything else you deal with will be the making of what kind of mum you will become.

Whatever pregnancy throws at you unconditional love is the key to growing a baby and doing it well


Z


xxx



  

The truth about pregnancy...

When I started this blog I promised myself I would be 100% honest otherwise what's the point? well this post is about to get very honest and reveal the truth and potentially funny side of pregnancy others don't get to see...

During pregnancy everyone comments about how you "Glow" and are at your most beautiful. Which I guess is kinda true in some aspects I am starting to enjoy my little bump get bigger and feeling my little man kick and move around and I must admit my skin feels amazing!

But... people only see what they want to see, us pregnant ladies know very different and I'm not talking about the tiredness or morning sickness I'm talking about the most outrageous constipation for days on end where you just think if I don't poo soon I'm going to explode! sitting on the toilet thinking if I push any harder will my baby just drop out ?! followed by the complete opposite of so desperately needing to go that you almost shit yourself in isle 3 of Sainsbury's which coincidently happened to me today (I didn't shit myself) it was bloody close thou, very quick dash across the store to customer toilets and everything was ok. How glamorous!

Pregnant ladies Did you know that as the baby grows your body naturally pushes all your internal organs up into the chest to make room for the little one? We don't need to be told this bit of information we can feel it. Oh yes baby loves to use my bladder as a pillow funnily enough during the night when I'm trying to get my beauty sleep (trust me its desperately needed) baby decides bouncing up and down on mums bladder sounds really fun. My current record of how many times I get up to pee during the night currently stands at 7 I am confident I can beat this in the coming months.

I think one of the best bits of being pregnant is no periods! yay to us not having to worry about buying our monthly things and the fuss and hassle of dealing with periods. WAIT.. don't get to excited yet ladies just because we don't have periods doesn't mean we are out of action down below for the next 9 months its the moment of realisation when you go to the loo and think why the hell are my pants wet that you know you haven't got out of sanitary product usage just yet! Its completely normal and natural to have some leakage during the most glamorous time of your life. The art of aiming without peeing all over your own hand is a skill we learn very quickly when visiting the midwife and having to provide a wee sample every time we go. WHO designed those tiny pots we get given to take a piss in, clearly not a woman (sorry men) but we are sick and tired of peeing on our own hand trying to get the pot in the right position to catch what little wee we can actually do and then trying to dry the paper label that's been stuck on the pot panicking that the midwife will think we have missed and peed all over the sticker. Keep your head held high ladies and get through this nitty gritty because soon you will have the most magical gift ever.

So the next time someone tells me I'm positively glowing in my head I'm just congratulating myself on not shitting myself today. You have to take these things in your stride and laugh when possible because I just know there is more embarrassing things to come when I give birth. In all seriousness every embarrassing moment and uncomfortable feeling is worth it knowing I am growing my very own little human and knowing I am going to be a mum soon.

its everything I ever wanted and even if I did poo myself in Sainsbury's today I'm pregnant nobody can judge me!

z

xxx

26 weeks with a bun in the oven

So I've made it to 26 weeks pregnant! woohoo!! 2 weeks away from being 7 months pregnant, time is just flying it only seems yesterday I was sat in my bathroom holding that test watching the second line appear! So I thought id do a little update on my pregnancy! I would say I've had a pretty easy pregnancy during the first 12 weeks I did have pretty bad nausea in the evenings I found that eating grapes made the sickness feeling go away so for weeks I just scoffed punnets and punnets of grapes! Ice cold drinks also seemed to help, I'm a big diet coke drinker anyway but I couldn't stop drinking ice cold diet coke.

I am quite a paranoid person in general I feel like I'm prone to bad luck so it was always my fear that something would happen early on I was scared to do things like bend down and sleep on my front. Every time I went to the toilet I would check I didn't have any bleeding I still do this even now! Luckily iv not had a single bit of bleeding throughout the whole pregnancy ( Touch wood ) During the first month or so of my pregnancy I did experience panic attacks almost every night when getting into bed it dawned on me that my life was about to change forever and I had no idea how to look after a baby. luckily that passed on its own.

All my scans have been completely normal and I am told the baby is healthy and growing nicely, there is nothing in the whole world that beats seeing your baby up on the screen in the scanning room. Apart from my issues with the healthy life style clinic in my past blog post everything has been tickety boo!

Fast forward to 26 weeks and my bump is growing nicely not as big as I thought I would be by now which is quite nice because I was worried I would just balloon! Baby is moving so much now mostly when I am lead in bed at night or in the bath. Just lately it feels like I've got a bowling ball in my stomach oh and nobody ever warns you about the constant peeing! trust me it isn't a myth I'm up and down like a yoyo all night long. Tonight whilst in the bath I put an empty coke can on my tummy and watched as he moved and kicked and it was just magical! I'm so in love with him already. The doubts of being a good parent are starting to kick in but I just keep telling myself I can only do my best.

The most exciting thing is ... HE HAS A NAME!! yes we have managed to narrow our list down to one name its a name both me and Mr M love its quite unusual but I just know this is the right name for my son. His name is being kept under wraps until he decides to make an appearance.

only 14 weeks till due date!

Z

xxx

Managing Mental health during pregnancy.

One thing a lot of pregnant women struggle to do is maintain good mental health especially with all those hormones flying around! So I thought I would put together a little post about how I manage my mental health and some bits of advice and tips for all mums to be

statistics show 1 in 4 people have some kind of mental illness and during pregnancy and after the birth you are more likely to develop depression and post natal deprerssion  I wasn't managing my mental health to well before getting pregnant the added pressure of not getting pregnant month on month was really putting a strain on not just me but poor Mr M having to deal with my regular breakdowns and tears month after month.

When I finally got pregnant I seemed to manage it a lot better. My stress levels reduced and my sleep problems that I've had for years seemed to disappear overnight quite literary

So currently I am okay I am managing well but just like everyone I have my bad days where I may feel low not wanting to do anything or get out of bed, tearful and anxious. Luckily I can spot the signs now that tell me I need to do something before I get to bad. Practising self care is one of the best things you can do to help beat the baby blues.

Here is a list of things I find helpful

- A bubble bath with candles

it may sound obvious but I find laying in a hot bath with some candles and relaxing music really helps take my mind off things. Its also a bonus to have bath bombs etc to make you feel extra relaxed. (pregnant women remember you shouldn't have your bath water to hot)

- Going for a drive

This is my favourite thing to do when I'm feeling low or anxious. Mr M takes me out and we just drive sometimes for well over an hour there's something really relaxing about a moving car and watching everything whizz past you.

- Exercise

Its really hard to find the motivation to exercise when you really don't feel your best but let me tell you once you get out there and do it it really boosts your energy levels and makes you feel like you've achieved something. so why not go for a quick run or swim to lift your mood?

-Reading

read a book! get lost in somebody else's life and story. Before you know it you'll be on chapter 5 and forgetting about how you feel.

-Talking

Always remember to talk... even if its to the cat. get those feelings out and shift the massive weight off those shoulders. My husband always lends an ear when I need it.

Being pregnant isn't easy us yummy mummy's need some self care relaxation time and there's always things we can do to make ourselves feel better after all we are growing another human! We deserve to feel good about ourselves.

YOU ARE STRONG AND POWERFULL.

Z

xxx