Slept like a baby??

As I am sure any parent or Mummy to be would agree, sleep is precious – and sometimes rare! For me, I haven’t slept properly since about 20 weeks and over the past 10 or so weeks getting more than a couple of hours is a complete treat. Yes, I know it’s preparation for when the baby arrives and yes, I am “making the most of it” But it still doesn’t make going to work like a zombie every day any easier!

In fact I seem to sleep best in the morning stint between 5am and when the alarm goes off at 7am which is typical as when I have to get up for work I feel like I’d be able to sleep for hours – roll on maternity leave!

It’s said around 8/10 pregnant ladies have insomnia and sleeping difficulties and it is down to a plethora of reasons;

•          Physical Discomfort – your body has changed shape and you have to find a new way to get comfortable (is there such a position?!) in between the leg cramps, heartburn & restless leg syndrome.
•          The constant need to empty your bladder – every couple of hours! I try to drink most of my few litres during the day so I don’t have too much in the evening which helps combat this. (Or reduces it to just 2 or 3 times per night – this will get worse as the time goes on regardless of how much you drink!)
•          Too hot or too cold – That internal hot water bottle doesn’t help when it comes to regulating your temperature. Wear loose fitting clothes and have an extra blanket to hand in case you wake up freezing cold.
•          Anxiety – thinking about all the changes coming your way and the many to do lists can often keep you awake. Try to make a list during the day to save doing it in your head at night. Clear your mind and concentrate on your breathing to help calm & relax yourself.
•          Kicking and shoving from the little cherub inside of you doesn’t make it easy to drift off, and unfortunately there is little you can do to stop this – your baby is in tune with your own heart rate and stress levels, so enjoy those movements and relax knowing they are perfectly happy in there practicing their dancing/football skills.
•          Vivid dreams – and boy are they insane these days! Strange, disturbing, erotic, scary…You will probably encounter them all, they are down to the increased Progesterone and REM your body is experiencing and the all of the extra worrying bringing a new life into the world brings.
•          Hunger or queasiness – try to have a little snack before bed to stop yourself from waking up hungry – or not nodding off because you feel sick. Make sure it’s not a high sugar snack though, so stick to a rice cake or piece of wholemeal toast.

 

Try to have a warm bath or shower before bed, listen to some music and turn off electrical devices an hour before you get your head down; swap your phone, TV, iPad etc. for a magazine or book. If you haven’t drifted off after around 20 minutes of trying take a little wonder to another room and then go back to bed, sometimes this really helps. Some of my friends swear by a white noise app on their phone such as Relax Melodies or Sleep Pillow Sounds so maybe give one of those a go if you’re really struggling?

 

My main piece of advice when it comes to comfort at night would be to invest in a good quality pregnancy pillow. My ultimate recommendation would be for the multi award winning Dreamgenii Pregnancy Pillow.

                       

It costs around £45, although some stores such as Mothercare often have £5 off; whatever you pay for it, it is worth every penny! It supports your back, knees, hips, pelvis and bump and encourages you to sleep on your left side which is recommended by professionals. It also promotes the best position for your baby to adopt which gives a better chance of a shorter and less painful labour. I have not heard a bad word said about these pillows, so invest early, I am sure you wont regret it!

                                    

Sweet dreams 🙂

Annnnnnd Stretch!!

Way before my first scan, I was showing…It seemed to pop out of nowhere and just kept getting bigger each day! (Making it particularly difficult around the office, let me tell you!) My thoughts turned immediately to preventing the dreaded stretch marks. They say these are hereditary so unfortunately destiny may have already decided whether or not you or I will get them, but I thought I would give as much chance to my poor skin as possible as I knew it was about to get a lot more stretched as the weeks went on.

So what are stretch marks and why do we get them?? They are caused by the dramatic changes your body goes through when the the skin is stretched suddenly and the middle layer of your skin (the dermis) breaks in places;  making room for the the new life growing inside of you. They start red, pink, dark brown & can even be purple, and as time goes on after pregnancy they will fade to lighter red or silvery, but unfortunately they won’t ever go away without laser surgery (and that isn’t always guaranteed to work). At least half of pregnant women will get them and they won’t just be on your tummy, they can be on your thighs, bum, boobs & hips too – lucky us!

I know I always go on about it, but water really is such a super help to so many functions of our bodies – Make sure you keep hydrated and try to drink 2 or more litres of water a day as this will really help your skin. (I know those loo trips every 20 minutes are annoying but it’s a small price to pay when it can help with water retention, swelling, stretch marks, nausea, constipation, bladder infections and even to help prevent preterm labour caused by dehydration) I already feel my bump is massive at 33 weeks, and I have no idea how it is going to keep growing – especially as the baby will put on half its birth weight from now until it is born!

Here are a selection of some of the best oils and creams I have come across over my time being pregnant, are there any you have tried which you can recommend to me?

•          Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Cream for Stretch Marks 125g

A moisturising cream which I found helped with general dryness. It helped make my skin feel more supple although I felt I needed something a bit more heavy duty to feel like I was combatting the threat of stretch marks. It is only around £3 which made it a great budget buy.

•          Mama Mio Tummy Rub Stretch Mark Butter 125ml.

A pricier option at around £23, which I found was incredibly thick and nourishing. It has a great fresh citrus scent to it and doesn’t leave a greasy residue like some creams.

•          Clarins Stretch Mark Control 200ml

This lighter consistency cream rubs into the skin really easily. It is around £30, but you get a lot more for your money and it seems to go quite far. I would say this cream is more useful for the fading of stretch marks, rather than the prevention so I will definitely be stocking up on some more for after if I get any!

On to some oils…

•          Cowshed Udderly Gorgeous Stretch Mark Oil. One of my faves!

Before I write anything, it’s important to mention this should only be used after the first trimester due to some of the botanical formulations which are in it. I found the oil felt really lovely and moisturising, all the while feeling like I was having a pamper morning and night. Cowshed also do a fab Balm which is gorgeous and smells divine!

•          Bio-Oil 200ml.

I have added this in because it was the first thing I used, and I know it is very popular – However…I didn’t find it suited me at all. The greasy formula sat on my skin and sank into my clothes once I got dressed, making it difficult to apply in the mornings. I also found I was always really itchy after a couple of hours where it felt like it hadn’t moisturised; it just felt like it was coating my skin rather than sinking in. That said, many find they get on really well with it & it’s also on the low end of the budget scale at £8-£9. Maybe one for after to help heal stretch marks.

•          Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil – My every day potion!

I had this recommended to me by a friend who has 2 children and I have to say I have not looked back. It is around £10 and admittedly I do go through a bottle every 6 weeks, but it is so lovely to use. It has a lemony scent which doesn’t disturb even the most sensitive nauseous noses! It soaks in quickly and leaves my skin so soft and supple. They also do a lovely Belly Butter which feels lovely all over my body.

• Neals Yard ‘Mothers Balm’

I am yet to try this one, but I wanted to add it to the list as I love the brand and know that this will be as luxurious and gorgeous as their other products. Definitely one to try next!

Whatever you do, try not to get down about them, there are lots of websites out there where people share stories and photos of themselves which can help if you are feeling down about them – you’re not alone, it is normal after all! And remember, they are testament to that miracle your body went through to give you that beautiful baby at the end of it.

 

 

The day the diet went out the window!

I wanted to write a little on this subject as I especially felt I wasn’t giving my baby anything good or healthy for a long time. In fact it wasn’t until about 17 weeks that I felt able to let any fresh produce pass my lips!

I went from having salads for lunch and fresh veggies with fish for dinner, to living off of jacket potatoes and anything suitably stodgy and carb related.

My main piece of advice at this stage would be that pregnancy is not a time for dieting! As time goes on, you’ll realise that there is absolutely no way you’re fitting into your best skinnies, even if you don’t succumb to your cravings or must have sickness saviours!

Having said all of this, I always vowed never to utter those famous words “I’m eating for 2” and even before I was pregnant I made Stuart promise that if ever he heard me say it, he would rip that cookie or tub of ice cream out of my hand there and then!

The truth is, you really only need an extra 300 calories and that is only in the last trimester. Here’s a few reasonably healthy food ideas for anyone feeling like I did;

•        Wholegrain Cereals – My extra large bowl of Weetabix started my day off every morning and ensured my blood sugar levels were maintained to help ease my nausea.

•          Smoothies – If like me, you can’t face the idea of fruit, but you know you want to give your body and your baby the vitamin boost it provides, then smoothies are the perfect resolution. Depending on the season, try whizzing up some blueberries with a banana and milk, or try some red berries with kiwi and ice.

•          Cheese – A great source of calcium if you can’t bear the idea of milk and want to steer clear of the caffeine in chocolate. Cheese on wholemeal toast makes for a good lunch.

•          Fish and Chips – It is recommended to eat no more than 12 oz. of fish per week, and limit oily fish such as tuna to 4 portions per week, however it contains essential Omega 3 which is great for healthy baby brain and eye development so for me I found Friday night fish and chips were carby enough not to induce me into nausea but helped me provide these great nutrients to my little one.

•          Eggs – With only 90 calories per egg and packed full of protein eggs can be your supper saviour if you’re too exhausted to cook. A couple scrambled up on wholemeal toast is perfect.

•          Greek Yoghurt – It contains twice the protein of normal yoghurt and full of calcium. It’s really important to have enough calcium to give to your growing baby’s skeleton but not sacrificing the amount you need to keep your bones healthy and strong. Pop some honey and blueberries on top for a healthy sweet fix.

On top of any food I managed to stomach, I also decided to take a supplement to top up the many vitamins and minerals I felt I was missing out on. I went with Vitabiotics Pregnacare Max, which included Omega 3, Folic Acid and around 20 other vitamins and nutrients.

Where are the trumpets??

For me it felt a little surreal. I had wanted to be pregnant for so long; not that we had been trying, but we wanted to get married and travel the world together before we started a family. So when we realised that the 4th positive pregnancy test couldn’t be wrong it all felt a bit strange, this was actually happening to us?! In fact even now, 7 months on I still find it hard to believe we are having a baby. I think that no matter how long you have been waiting, planning or trying, when you first see that 2nd little blue line you realise life will never be the same again! (And take it from me, even the faintest line is a positive!!) 

We had booked to go on holiday and it fell just 4 days after we found out we were pregnant. I spent pretty much 70% of the time we were away sleeping…and the rest eating! I was so exhausted I couldn’t stay awake for more than a couple of hours, my poor hubby! It was great to be able to just relax and let my body do what it needed to do! I had a couple of middle of the night scares where I would rush to the bathroom in agony and just sit praying that everything would be ok whilst in the most awful pain. This was to be the beginning of months of worry, naturally.

When we arrived home the nausea set in. 

As I am sure any ladies who have been pregnant (and long suffering partners in some cases!) would agree, the term “morning sickness” was probably coined by somebody who was either very lucky, or whom had never actually experienced it! More accurately, certainly for me anyway, it would be called “The Worst Hangover I’ve Ever Had That Makes Me Want To Crawl Under A Rock For 3 Months, Sickness” 

I tried a few remedies to help ease the discomfort. If anyone reading this is in the same boat, I hope they help you in some way!

• Travel Sickness bands – recommended by a friend who used them when pregnant with her twins. They helped sometimes, but I looked more like I self harmed more than anything else! 

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• Nairn’s Stem Ginger Oatcakes – Sometimes a little too dry for someone with the world’s driest mouth in the first place though.

                         

• Biscuits, and lots of them. I should have bought shared in McVities for the first few months!

 

• Polos, Extra Strong Mints, Fisherman’s friends, Softmints…You get the idea.

 

• Water – lots of it. Most of the time it would be the last thing I would want to ingest, but your worse enemy is dehydration. If you can’t bear the thought of plain water go for a squash, but steer clear of fresh orange juice as the acidity will do you no favours – especially on the way back up! (Sorry!) 

Unfortunately, for my ever expanding waistline, the most effective (if not short lived) relief, was eating little and often. And in my case it was usually crisps or something equally unhealthy! 

I hope you find your own relief…If it helps you get through it, for every race to the work toilet or queezy moment just think it’s that new little life inside of you making you feel so rotten and who could be mad with that darling baby you have created?!