(Over) half way there- pregnancy

I didn’t intend on writing many pregnancy posts and good job as I’m heading into my third trimester and wondering where the time has disappeared to. One thing’s for sure though it’s not something I want to rush 3rd time around (I felt awful the last time and wished the weeks away).

I’ve been asked a lot however about sharing more about this pregnancy and in particular what maternity clothing I’ve been buying. I don’t find very exciting, maternity clothing still has a lot to be desired and I find myself ordering and returning due to shape and fit but I hope to share what I have been loving next week. I have aimed for some staple pieces I hope will carry me through and then a few dresses that I’ve worn to weddings/ on holidays (which are mainly sized up regular clothes and ones I know I can wear again next year).

Some little knitted items that both Nanas have been busy doing.

I’ve also been asked about nursery plans and what items I’ve got for the baby so far which I’ve included here.

I get that this type of post can be a little dull so if you aren’t interested in items for baby then I’d advise you to exit now.

At 20 weeks pregnant with Annie I had the nursery mostly set up, all Bella’s old babygrows washed and folded in the drawers and felt like I was really organised.

Looking through my camera roll and realised I was very prepared as this was 4 months before Annie was born!

It’s very different this time around in every way from how I’m feeling (so much better than my previous pregnancy) to having my focus more on two little ones school/ activities/ new business that I barely notice the weeks passing. However in the last week I’ve let my thoughts turn to thinking about the birth and getting organised.

Can I just say before I write anymore that I love reading other people’s ‘essential list’ for baby.

But I’m sure it goes without saying that the only true ‘essentials’ are food (whatever works best for you and baby) warmth, somewhere for baby to sleep, love and time/ patience. Oh, and the Ugliest piece of equipment known to man which will save your insanity whilst driving you to the brink of insanity with its tune.... The Jumperoo. I’m kiddin’, sort of!

The rest are ‘nice to haves’ and I know I’m in a nice situation that we can buy these wee bits, and in some cases been offered gifts in exchange for promotion and not for a second do I take that for granted!

I donated most of Annie’s clothes, car seat, baby carrier, cot etc just before Christmas to a foster family for a little newborn and was so glad to be able to. I was delighted however to find a box of newborn clothes which has lots of little neutral bits as well as the most adorable baby girl babygrows. I’ve washed some of the vests and babygrows I had for the girls and love the novelty of setting them out for their sibling.

We have not found out the gender of this little one though I’ve 2 little girls that are 100% convinced it’s a baby girl and one said to me ‘baby God told me in my dream that it was a wee girl’ the other one said as she was cuddling my tummy ‘you are so so lucky baby to have 2 big sisters that love you so much’ *pause

‘Even if you are a boy.’ Perhaps I should have found out!

Whoever this little one may be though s/he will have 2 big sisters that will love them fiercely/ torture them in equal measure!

We do get a lot ‘you will be hoping for a boy’ which I don’t mind people saying, some things just roll off the tongue. I would love to have a wee boy and equally love a little girl especially coming from a family of 4 girls the thought is pretty cool! A safe delivery of a healthy baby (ideally without extreme colic and knows that sleep is not the enemy) would be great…. I don’t care how cliché that sounds!

Pregnancy care

Except for taking daily vitamins, rubbing Bio Oil and Bob and Blossom stretch mark oil all over myself until I look like I’m entering a muscle show and booking a birthing class (here) that I took with Annie (I swear hypnobirthing made a huge difference and give me a great induction birth after a very tough pregnancy, I found that ‘ignorance is bliss’ in terms of labour didn’t help me) that’s all I’ve been planning physically! I do intend to start some yoga YouTube videos again as I believe it also helped ease things when pregnant with Annie.

What I’ve bought/ organised so far

Pram

A while back when in Belfast Colin and I called into two baby stores to try out the iCandy Peach pram and Bugaboo Fox which I didn’t know about until I went looking. I loved the Bugaboo Camelion and went with the intention of trying it out but when shown how light the Fox was to push and easy to fold up I fell in love with it and decided to go for it in the classic grey, we put the deposit down that day but delayed the delivery to a little closer to my due date.

I am a Bugaboo lover as I love updating colours etc, I bought my Donkey second hand off GumTree for the girls and the Bugaboo Bee new which we still have. I found the Donkey really held it’s value and as a 6 year old pram in great condition I didn’t loose too much money on it when reselling as it was still in great condition. I think I take more pride in keeping my prams clean than cars!

I would highly recommend the Donkey especially if you plan to have your family quite close together but it’s also brilliant as a single pram with the super handy basket.

We had a iCandy peach with Bella and it will always be Colin’s favourite pram but he agreed with me and found the Fox a lot lighter to push and almost like stroller weight. I found that the iCandy style of one in front and one behind when doubling up for a second baby didn’t work great and that’s why we sold it and changed to Bugaboo.

Baby monitor

We ordered the AngelCare monitor with sensor pad and camera but also have delayed the delivery until the closer to my due date. I had an AngelCare monitor for Bella and Annie and it alerted me to Bella stopping breathing at only 8 weeks old (an image I’ll never shake!), we used it religiously for every nap and bedtime until the girls were 18 months and couldn’t keep up with them rolling off the mat. I ordered the monitor when in Mamas and Papas as they price matched an offer online.

Moses basket

I have my own Moses basket which has had 11 babies in it in the (almost) 31 years (all washed and new mattress each time) but the wicker is now creaking a lot and is more for novelty so we will leave it in the living room and use a crib by the bed this time. I have read a lot about the Snuzpod crib and love the idea of having baby so close but still in their own space, they got in contact and offered to gift me one which I’m so grateful for, I’ll share more on what I think when we get to try it out.

Co sleeping/ semi co sleeping is understandably a hot topic, like feeding and a lot of things regarding parenting I believe informed is best and every parent/ baby is different. I was very against co sleeping with Bella but I struggled in many ways with Annie the first year and as she only seemed to find comfort when I was feeding her, I needed to research safe co sleeping however this time I would ideally like baby to be in their own space and then cot when big enough.... the ideal world!

Sleeping Pod

I bought a Sleepyhead of Sweden which I never got for the girls but have heard lots of great reports so hopefully this baby will love it!

Pregnancy/ Breastfeeding pillow

One item that has really helped through pregnancy for me is a good Pregnancy pillow. I was sent the BellaMoon as a gift after working with Irene who founded and designed the product while off on maternity leave with her little Bella. Bella Moon ‘full moon’ is a 7 in 1 pregnancy, breastfeeding and infant support pillow. The pregnancy pillow has been such a support to my hips and I can’t wait to feel the back support when I’m feeding as previously my back would feel almost numb without good support.

6 years ago… My 3 day old baby Bella on her way to the caravan on the hottest day of the year. Sooo tiny!

Car seat.

Previously I used a Cybex Aton car seat and base for the girls. The one click in and out of the car seat base I absolutely loved and knew that I wanted that handiness again however this time I ordered a Nuna Pipp as when in Mothercare they showed me a few different car seats and I loved how lightweight the Nuna was and how far the hooded part could come down (something I don’t think you can view properly online). I thought it would be really handy for school runs. The base comes with the car seat making it super handy to click in and out. I ordered it that day as it was on offer, it’s also compatible with the Bugaboo Fox.

This post is way longer than intended so I will post a nursery plans which we have started this week and panelling details (which I’ve got asked about a lot when the panelling was being done) separately.

Anna x