Baby showers and Bump paintings!

Its that time of my pregnancy to start getting ready for the inevitable... but first there's one important thing that needs to be done. P-A-R-T-Y! I'm not talking going out on the town getting smashed and throwing up in a kebab shop at 3am. I'm talking about friends games, lots of baby talk and food!

So I'm very lucky to have lots of special friends and family in my life who all put a lot of effort into throwing me a really nice baby shower and I cant thank them all enough ( you know who you are) So once we had a guest list I was officially left out of the planning which was strange for me a I like to have a hand in everything! As the venue was my place of work I was in charge of the food. what I do best! you cant go wrong with a classic buffet of sausage rolls quiche and scotch eggs can you?

Very kindly my friend and the head chef made me an amazing baby shower cake which I loved and it tasted great! And I also had some delisious cupcakes made by a special friend.

So id heard about bump painting before and thought it was slightly strange but now I'm pregnant I want to experience everything so I managed to find this lady on Facebook who paints pregnant ladies bumps! so I thought why the hell not? So a few hours before the shower she came along to my house and painted me up. For anyone who knows me i have a slight obsession with micky mouse! I have so many baby grows, clothes ,and toys for my baby all in micky mouse! so you guessed it... i just had to have micky mouse painted on my bump! The woman was so experienced she painted it all freehand and even added some glitter just for that extra little touch. and i absolutely loved it! you can see the photo at the end of this blog post.

After being branded on my belly with micky mouse i got ready and headed down to the party with all my friends and family waiting to see that the room had been very cleverly decorated with blue micky mouse decorations! I absolutely loved it! we chatted and done a quiz then attacked the buffet and just generally talked babies and labour and had lots of photos taken. i had a great time catching up with some old friends.

I didn't actually realise until I got home how many presents we had been given for the baby! my living room currently looks like Toys R Us! A see of gift bags and presents covered my floor we had everything from clothes to bath products to nappies and even a Pandora charm! Totally spoilt and so grateful to each and every person who came and gave us gifts!

a Special thank you goes out to my Mum, Mel, Harriet, Haley, Charlotte and Rhys for all the time effort and money put into the afternoon.


After sorting through all the pressies I finally got round to putting everything away in its own place and putting all baby's new clothes away in drawers leaving his cot free and ready for his long awaited arrival! everything feels so real now!

3 weeks and counting...




Z


xxx

Paper Pants not included!

so... The time has come, shits about to get real and I have to pack my hospital bag! it only seems like yesterday I was peeing on a little stick, and now I'm only 3 weeks away from due date! I've been putting off even thinking about the birth, time in hospital and packing my bag. I need to man up and accept this is happening... the baby is coming and there's nothing I can do to stop it.


So, what do I actually need to pack in my hospital bag? After extensive research and by research I mean having a quick gander online I have discovered Instead of packing for a couple of nights stay in hospital I am actually packing for a weeks holiday in Tenerife.. ( I WISH! ) Who knew you had to basically hire a lorry to transport all your stuff to the hospital?


After compiling a list of what I thought I needed I headed off to the shops in search of the bits and pieces I needed to pack. Most of the stuff I've already got at home such as nighties ( very sexy) pyjamas and t shirts etc. All the obvious stuff. So strolling round asda with my trolley as I'm to lazy to carry a basket! Anyway there's a whole aisle dedicated to babies and all the gumph you need. Now I got recommended by someone that I would need some big maternity pads as apparently you bleed like Niagara falls after the birth and judging by the huge maternity pads I bought they arnt lying! You could sail across the Atlantic on these humongous pads that apparently will fit into my knickers I will let you know how that goes...
so I threw  a couple packs of them in my trolley. Conveniently On the same shelf I spotted some maternity pants that I thought looked pretty handy... until I picked up the box for a look and realised they are paper pants yes that's right PAPER PANTS!! now I know labouring a child isn't the most glorifying thing in the world but I am not going to be subjected to covering my woman's bits in paper bloody pants!! ( excuse the pun) That's not me being a snob far from it...  I am taking a trip to Primark later in the week to get a pack of new pants.


Supposedly I will need breast pads once your body starts producing milk you start to leak. urgh so many things to think about! I have looked everywhere and can I find any breast pads? can I buggery... so I've bought a big pack of cotton wool pads hoping they will do the job, what can go wrong? Apart from all the clothes and pads for different body parts I've been recommended other things to take these include- books, magazines, sweets, iPad, water, phone charger and a hand held fan. Then there's the things you might miss out like toothpaste tooth brush etc. I've been told chewing gum is a good idea!

Now of Corse your partner/birthing partner in this case my baby daddy Mr M will be joining me on the wonderful birthing experience, don't forget they could be at the hospital for hours so they are going to need some supplies to! We have a little bag packed for the daddy to be and of Corse this includes the essentials such as chocolate biscuits and bottles of coke, that should keep him going... we have thrown in a spare pair of clean clothes just for good measure.


 thanks to everyone who has recommended me what to pack here is a list of what I've packed for myself...

Very sexy old lady nighties x2
shorts x3
t shirts x3
new pants x6
flip flops
hand held fan
cotton wool pads
maternity pads
chewing gum
Vaseline
water
sweets
iPad
books
phone charger
medication
toothpaste
toothbrush
toiletries



And for the baby I have packed...

baby grows x4
baby hats x2
scratch mits x4
nappies
wipes
nappy cream
aptamil starter pack (milk)
muslin cloths x3
socks x 3
blanket
teddy bear


and there you have it... packed and ready to dash off whenever the pregnancy gods decide its time!



Z





xxx

Anixety Antics and Worry Warts

Sodding anxiety!!! always turns up when you least expect it and really don't want it! I don't like to say I'm a sufferer of anxiety because I believe we all have anxiety during stressful and demanding times of our lives and why wouldn't we? Its perfectly normal to stress and worry.

Except for me the big old worry wart that I am! Sometimes I let it take over and theres nothing I can do to stop it. I'm a pretty laid back person most of the time so anyone reading this who knows me must be thinking Anixety... what anxiety?

and your totally right you cant see it because its hiding bubbling away in my head.  A few years ago more than id like to mention ( so I don't sound to old) I wont lie I used to be pretty bad something as silly as did I say the wrong thing to someone today and upset them? I used to stay awake at night worrying myself stupid id upset somebody or said the wrong thing. My anxiety now? Couldn't give a crap if ive said something wrong or upset someone I just say sorry if I feel ive said something wrong and that's that no going home worrying myself sick. YAY to me!

Ive been pretty cool and calm (for me) during pregnancy, as the weeks are passing and I'm getting tired and achey I get tearful at night worrying about every single situation. Am I going to be a good mother to my little boy? Am I going to love him? that's my current biggest fear, I mean realistically as soon as hes born I know I'm going to fall totally in love with him but sometimes my mind tricks me and makes me think that I wont, even worse... what if he doesn't love me? Anixety plays tricks on our minds even more so during challenging times I'm sure I'm not the first pregnant woman to think these things and I'm sure I wont be the last.

My current anxiety worrying me is how I will feel after the birth. It terrifies me more than actually giving birth! Sleep deprived and tramatic events (I call a tramatic event going to the dentist) so giving birth is going to fuck me up. I'm genuinely terrified of how I will feel after the birth and ive already decided I don't want visitors at the hospital apart from my mum and dad and Mr Ms mum and dad because I have a feeling I will be so tired and tearful I wont want to see anyone. I'm panicking like fuck about people wanting to come straight round my house to meet the little bundle of joy, I know everyone is excited and I know everyone wants to meet him I get that but I need time to myself to recover and feel better mentally its only fair to want that isn't it? so why do I feel like such a horrible person for wanting that?

Tonight I am tired and tearful and letting my anxiety get the better of me. Tomorrows a new day to try and not be a worry wart!

Z

xxx

Mum with a fat tum

That's right as I'm approaching week 35 ( 5 weeks to go! ) I am a very proud mum with a fat tum! This last few weeks I have done a lot of growing and according to my pregnancy app baby is almost at his last stage of growing and will soon be the size of a watermelon! A BLOODY WATERMELON!

My healthy eating has really gone out the window these last few weeks I consumed far to many Easter eggs and I suddenly have a bad craving for anything chocolate! so its not surprising I've put on a bit of beef in my last trimester. Usually I would be devouring a share bag of malteasers crying at how fat I'm getting but this time I honestly couldn't give 2 shits how much weight I've put on. I've already planned how I'm going to lose weight once the littleun is here. So rack the malteasers up baby !!

Some perks and downfalls of being a mum with a fat tum are laugh your socks off funny or cry yourself to sleep emotional. I will start with the funny... Have you ever had a lovely relaxing bath with candles and bubbles and chilled with a book? isn't it just the best way to relax? Yeah well try being almost 9 months pregnant enjoying said bath until the time comes to get out... I tend to call the crane in advance now so its ready to reverse into my bathroom to lift me out safely in one piece. The other "perk" If you could call it that is we can get away with wearing the most gigantic knickers known to man kind! and yes they are bloody comfortable even if it looks like reading festival in my back garden whilst they hang on the line to dry I don't care ( sorry neighbours ) They are the kind of tent even Post Malone would be proud to headline in!

Having a huge bump comes with some slight disadvantages, I haven't seen my lady bits since about month 5 and as I'm not proud to admit this but my huge reading festival pants come in handy containing the forest that befalls my lady region. My biggest problem at the moment is thinking of a way to shall we say "tidy up" the 100 acre woods inside my giant knickers, I've heard a very nasty rumour that if you turn up at hospital in labour with a hairy muff that the midwives do the job for you. No way is anyone else coming near me with a razor down there, a plan of action is drastically needed before D Day!

So those are the funny bits I suppose you could say of being pregnant, what's the downfalls of being a mum with a fat tum? Pain... yes total aches and pains of the whole bumpage can really knock you when you are down, fortunately I bought this pregnancy belt from amazon that basically holds the bump up and stops the aches and strains, I just look like I'm going rock climbing! I think I've covered the emotional side of being a fatty in other blog posts so I wont bore you all again with that except to say its perfectly acceptable to sit and cry into a cup of tea for absolutely no reason!

My bump got measured the other day whilst at the midwife and I'm very happy to report that I am perfectly within the guidelines for bump measurements! the guide lines are something like you shouldn't measure more than your week of pregnancy so for example I was 33 weeks and I measured 32cm from top to bottom of my bump which I'm told is very normal and healthy. YAY! As these next few weeks pass I have so many hospital and midwife appointments I guess that's all normal as we approach the end. For now and the next few weeks I'm a mum with a fat tum and proud of it!

Z

xxx

Baking with Bump

So for those of you who don't know I work as a chef and baker, I like to think of myself more as a baker because that's what I do best. Ive been baking for years and absolutely love it! I Spent 3 years at catering college where I really came out of my shell and learnt how to cook like a pro. I've had numerous jobs over the years all in kitchens from washing up to making sandwiches to baking and doing fine dining food. I started years ago making celebration cakes for birthdays weddings ect. ( if you want to see my work then search What zoe bakes on facebook) I loved doing these cakes for people some of them took me hours but I loved every second, sadly having a full time job and other commitments meant I had to stop doing them for a while, my plan is to start this up again once on maternity leave so watch this space!

After this I got a job in a garden center and after a while I was put into the bakery YAY! My dream come true baking for a living! the amount of cakes I would smash out of that bakery was unreal. hundreds of scones a week numerous cakes and traybakes, I was loving life! I currently work in a small hotel in my local village, here I make fresh scones cakes desserts bread you name it I make it. I have abit of a reputation for making weird flavours of cakes, however they always seem to sell! I was lucky enough a few years ago to feature on the nightly show with Gordon Ramsay who is my absolute favourite chef! He likes my cake really despite what he said haha!


Watch what he thought of my cake here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z44CqpALi0


For those of you who haven't watched the video I made a cucumber cake for Gordon to try (I didn't actually make it I sent in my recipe and his chefs made it mine looks better!). Ive made and sold many slices of this at work and its actually quite nice and really refreshing. So I thought id share one of my favourite recipies with you to try! Give it a go and see what you think. its not as crazy as it sounds honest!



Cucumber and elderflower cake
makes 1 cake

you need-

1 cucumber (deseeded)
230g butter
300g sugar
4 eggs
300g self raising flour
200g icing sugar
1 bottle of elderflower cordial

1.) Preheat the oven to 160oc

2.) Deseed the cucumber and blend up to make a sort of cucumber juice,

3.) Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy

4.) Slowely add the egg whilst continigung to beat

5.) Once all the egg is mixed in add the flour and beat in.

6.) Slowley add the cucumber juice.

spread between 2 round cake pans and bake on 160 for approx. 30 min


For the filling make a buttercream out of 100g of the icing sugar and some butter this is for the middle of the cake.

To top the cake mix the remaining icing sugar and a few splashes of elderflower cordial and spread over the top of the cake. If you are feeling really adventurous you can make some cucumber crisps by thinly slicing some cucumber dusting with icing sugar and leave in the oven on a really low temperature to dry out.

and there you have it! one cucumber cake


Enjoy !!





Z




xxx

Hip Hip Hooray!! (Hip pain during pregnancy)

This last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster. I've suddenly developed bad pains in my hips during the evening when I lay down in bed. And by bad pains I mean stabbing aches in both my hips and no matter what position I lay in. I'm up all night trying to roll over and find a comfy spot but its like the world hates me and wants me to suffer because nothing works. During the day its absolutely fine its literary just when I lay down which is super annoying because I love my sleep! Anyway I mentioned it to my midwife who all she really recommended was sleeping with a pillow between my legs which kind of helps.


Anyway I decided enough was enough last night and I decided to take action. For my birthday back in January my mum bought me this super large 4 foot pregnancy pillow its basically a giant horseshoe pillow that you lay down the middle and its supposed to support everything. Its kind of helpful but difficult to sleep in. So last night I collected every cushion pillow and blanket we had in the house and I made a little nest right in the middle of my bed and good lord did that help support my hips and back. instead of being in pain all night I only woke up about twice in pain which is a massive improvement! So I've put together some bits of information tips and advice on what to do if you experience hip pain during pregnancy.

What is hip pain in pregnancy and what are the causes?

Pain in the hips pelvis and lower back normally develops in the third trimester of pregnancy and is caused by a pregnancy hormone called relaxin. This hormone causes the ligiments in the hips to soften to prepare for labour which results in aches and pains when pressure is applied to the hips.

How can I help reduce the pain in my hips ?

I have had lots of advice from other people who have been through the same thing all telling me similar to the midwife and that's to sleep with a pillow between my legs. whilst this kind of helps it doesn't take the pain completely away. The only real thing that's worked for me is making my nest of cushions and blankets and finding the right position to sleep in.

physiotherapy and a chiropractor

I am not speaking from experience here as I haven't used either of these but I have been recommended by friends to use these. To be honest the cost of going to a chiropractor or physiotherapy is way out of my price range whilst saving for a baby and to be honest ive managed to keep my pain under control a little bit.

Swimming

Swimming is a proven way to help with hip pain because under water you are weightless as you swim this acts as kind of a message on your joints. ( proper annoying because I cancelled my swim membership last week)



I think the most important thing is to not put to much strain on your body and find a sleeping position that works for you.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE. if you have sever pain and are not managing please seek medical advice. Happy sleeping xx


Z




xxx