Project B boxes - month 6 to 8

I've signed up to Project B - a company that sends out subscription boxes. (I pay for my subscription so this hasn't been commissioned by Project B in any way). I came a little late to the boxes, only subscribing in January, so didn't have any of the earlier ones. I've been quite happy with the ones I have had though and it's very exciting when they arrive.

Month 6 - The theme for this box was Energise. The only things I've tried so far are the Paws fruit snacks, the Nairns oatcakes (both of which are really tasty) and the Skin Therapy Oil - which is okay for an oil but I don't like it as much as the Palmers creams.

Month 7 - The theme for this month was Relax. It came with a book on hypnobirthing which I was quite excited about - and I found it refreshing to receive something with a positive outlook rather than the negativity I've experienced elsewhere. The other item I was excited about was the alcohol-free wine. As a non-drinker I've always struggled to find good quality alcohol-free drinks that aren't normal soft drinks. Enter Eisberg and wow. It's delicious. SBB even enjoyed it and he's never keen on rose. I put it together with some jerk chicken (recipe from The Hairy Bikers Eat for Life), coconut rice and green beans. I was very impressed and, as it turns out, they sell it at Morrisons so I'm going to head down there to try the white and the red too - and pick up a few more bottles of the rose!

Month 8 - The theme for this month was Prepare, which is useful because that's sort of my theme for the month too! This box only arrived today so I haven't tried anything yet but I was really impressed by how much was in the box. There are a few items I'm definitely planning on putting in my hospital bag - the Nivea in-shower moisturiser, breast pads, Gluco Juice, toothbrush, baby wipes and coconut oil. I'm also quite excited to try the bottle - not myself, obviously - although I'm planning on mainly breastfeeding. I'm not sure how useful the Sudocrem nappy rash cream will be as we'll be using cloth nappies and it's not recommended to use nappy rash cream with cloth.

28 weeks pregnant - Reduced fetal movement

I had a bit of a scare on Monday - baby hadn't really been moving so I was thinking Tuesday morning I would have to go to the maternity unit. I had felt movements but they were so small and delicate that it worried me. Plus, there weren't nearly as many as usual.

However, Tuesday morning I gave the baby a good poke after breakfast and it responded beautifully. Then it spent the rest of the day kicking/punching the cr*p out of me which made me feel much better.

In fact since then the baby has been even more active than usual.

We went to a Mothercare Expectant Parent Event this week. The advert I saw for it said there would be ' mini presentations and small group sessions' on the topics of car seats and fitting advice, nursery furniture and sleep safety advice, pushchairs and prams, breast pumps and sterilising equipment and baby toys.
There were displays from a couple of local places - the library, independent midwives, antenatal classes etc - but the 'small group sessions' were essentially just whoever happened to be chatting with the assistants.
There was 10% off for the evening - but the evening was basically just Mothercare trying to sell us stuff so I was a little disappointed.

27 weeks pregnant

The heartburn eased at the beginning of this week and I finally got to go out for my birthday curry with SBB at Tamarind in Newport - our favourite restaurant.

I took my 'usual' afternoon walk for the first time this year and managed to do it again a couple of days later. It felt good and wasn't too uncomfortable, although I did have a bum/head pressing hard against my belly the majority of the walk. This baby loves the exercise!
The weather was good for the first time in ages so it was a lovely walk and I enjoyed the countryside.

I had ordered some swimwear from Sports Direct and that arrived this week. I bought a maternity swimsuit as mine were getting tight and uncomfortable. I also ordered a black tankini top to wear during labour, which is a little... skimpy... in the chest area. SBB raised an eyebrow when I tried it on, but, as I pointed out - some women go naked in the birthing pool so it's not like the midwives are going to look at me and think 'she's showing a bit too much breast for labour'. It ties at the neck so it will be very simple to tug free for breastfeeding and skin-to-skin. Plus it was only £2!

I feel like a bit of a broken record mentioning my discomfort during sleep, but its been a bit uncomfortable again - my hip aches from sleeping in the one position and my ear was aching too this week.

Our shower - after breaking twice within two weeks - has finally been fixed. Thank heavens for electrical-savvy fathers!

26 weeks pregnant - Hello heartburn

I had been wondering at which point the baby and uterus would be heavy enough to start pressing on the vena cava. Well, it's this week. One morning I woke up on my back and my legs were numb and tingly.

The last few nights have been a bit painful - yet again one night I woke up and my hip, shoulder and ear were in agony. Particularly as I now definitely can't lie on my back, it's very annoying as I don't have any position to change to.

Heartburn - the worst I've experienced so far - crashed back into my life on Sunday evening and stayed all day on Monday so I didn't feel like going for my birthday curry at the Tamarind. Our shower also broke for the third time in two weeks - the water pressure suddenly dropped and started pouring out of the wall unit. It's currently in bits as my Dad works on it. Although the heartburn subsided it has randomly popped up again throughout the week, but thankfully not as bad as it was.

Walking for any distance outside is getting a little painful. I have to keep reminding myself to set a slower pace, otherwise I keep getting what I can only describe as 'front stitch' which occurs not in my obliques like normal stitch but in my lower abdominals near my hips. I assume baby must have had a growth spurt. I've also noticed that I have a muscle/tendon in the underside of my right foot that twangs whenever I walk. It feels like the precursor to cramp, which makes me nervous.

25 weeks pregnant - aka The Bereft Banana, The Nocturnal Babel Fish and Where Are My Feet?

"Welcome to your third trimester."

...Eh?

.......What?....WHAT?

According to my Day-by-Day Pregnancy Book from DK publishers week 25 signals the start of  the third trimester. I didn't think it was for a couple of weeks but apparently it's all to do with how you work out the maths. If you work it out by days (which, unsurprisingly, my book does) week 25 is the third trimester but if you work it out by weeks it's week 27. Huh.

I think the 'pregnancy brain' may have started.... I made some banana oat bars for mid-morning snacks and the recipe calls for ripe bananas. Mine we still a little hard, which made mashing them difficult so I added a little oil and put them in the microwave to soften them a little.

It was the only the next morning, when I came to put my porridge in the microwave that I found this:

The Bereft Banana. Poor little thing.

My parents also took me on a shopping trip to Southampton to buy a few baby bits, which was very generous, however my mother seems to equate buying presents with love so I spent the majority of the trip resisting being pressurised into having unnecessary 'stuff'.
Two things that seemed to annoy my mother were A: I've been very organised so already purchased the cot bed, travel system, bouncer and storage items for the nursery in various sales and B: we live in a small house so don't have enough room to store unnecessary 'stuff'.
She was very upset that I refused her offer of having a baby wardrobe. I don't want to offend anyone that has bought a baby wardrobe but, personally, I think they're a bit pointless. She was also very enamoured with the various baby baths for sale. Again, I'm sure some people have found them handy but I don't have the room to store one and, as they only last a few months, I'd prefer something that has a little longevity.... And folds away (small bathroom).
Mum picked up a bath support that was almost a quarter of the size of the bath.
"That's lovely, Mum, but we don't have room for it."
"Sure you do. It will hang on the wall."
"Where?"
"In the bathroom."
"Yes, but where in the bathroom? It's too bulky. We don't have the space."
.....And so on.

But here are the very useful I items I was delighted they could buy for us:

Nappy bag and towel bale (Mothercare)

Baby carrier, two mattress protectors and Airwrap (John Lewis)

Cot mattress fitted sheets (Mamas & Papas)

They also bought a couple of sleeping bags and some cute clothes but Mum kept those to give me later in a special 'present box'.

This week was also my birthday so Mum and I went to the Lakeside Hotel for a spa afternoon and Afternoon Tea as a special treat.

Reception

The view

Unfortunately I couldn't use the jacuzzi, steam room or sauna but we had a nice swim before our facials.

This week I noticed that I can no longer see my feet when standing normally and I seem to have a nocturnal Babel Fish that likes to sing. Every night I have a song playing in my head that goes round and round through the night and is still with me when I wake up. Unfortunately it always seems to be songs I don't like.

My view

 Baby is starting to react to loud noises but luckily seems to only be awake when I am. However, whenever I get up in the night, baby takes that as a sign that it's time to wake up so gifts me with a bit of squirming and a few kicks before eventually deciding to settle down again.

24 weeks pregnant

Another quiet week this week although I have been suffering with a cold, which hasn't been pleasant. Being pregnant there's nothing I can take to ease the symptoms so it's been difficult trying to sleep and keep my head upright enough so I can breathe.

Baby's kicks keep getting stronger and I've started to notice a bit of a routine. Baby also seems to be most active when I am, which apparently is unusual. At the hypnobirthing classes I was the only woman to say that baby sleeps during the night and is awake during the day. While I was suffering with the cold I noticed that baby kept waking up whenever I got up in the middle of the night.

Itching is still hanging around - so I assume baby is experiencing a growth spurt. I haven't had any stretch marks yet so I'm keeping up with the creams.

23 weeks pregnant and confusing the petunias out of the midwife

(Still catching up with pregnancy updates)

Sleep is a bit hit and miss. Baby's schedule seems to be pretty much the same as mine - i.e. awake when I am - so it's not kicking that's keeping me awake, it's sleeping on my left side. I'm a front or right-side sleeper by habit so only being able to sleep on the left is sometimes uncomfortable. I've been coping well with a couple of standard pillows under the bump and against my back - rather than fork out for a pregnancy pillow - but sometimes simply lying in one position all night will make my shoulder ache. Or my hip. Or my ear. Argh....

We had our midwife appointment this week. It was brief. Then I confused both her and the HCA by asking about the dating of the pregnancy and the scans. The basis of my question was this:

During early pregnancy it's dated from the LMP - so technically you're already two weeks pregnant by the time you actually fall pregnant, then the 12 week scan is supposed to give a more accurate date.

HOWEVER

Working backwards from the age that the sonographer gave us the first day of my pregnancy was still in the midst of my period, which doesn't strike me as possible.

Now this may not seem like a big deal and at the moment it isn't but I don't want to reach the end of my pregnancy and get to 41 weeks pregnant and be pressured in to having an induction when actually the dating of the pregnancy is about 7-10 days out. It may not come to that but I wanted to ask the professionals to see if the dating was supposed to be like that.

They didn't know and I don't think they actually understood what I was asking. Unfortunately the more I tried to clarify, the more confused they became. So in the end I left it.

I also bought some stuff from Zulily - a few baby bits and a couple of pieces of maternity clothes. When it all arrives I'll post a couple of photos - namely because the baby pieces are adorable!