BABY: The 12 Week Scan

Our 12 Week Scan Photo

Nothing could have prepared us for seeing our little tiny baby on screen for the first time. I had a lot of worries in the weeks running up to the scan. What if we haven't got a baby in there? What if the ultrasound person says I'm too chubby to get a decent picture? Chris was very reassuring during this time and said it would be fine, but when it came to the scan day we were both a combination of excitement and a bag of nerves.

Sitting in the waiting room we both passed the time by creating daft stories for people who walked past us. Half an hour later than our actual planned appointment a lovely lady called us in and got me settled into the dimly lit room. She explained what we should be seeing today and really put us at ease. I will always be thankful for this cheerful and calming lady. You hear of these horror stories where people feel like they are being reprimanded, but in our case we got ourselves a good-un!

After handing her my notes, and confirming we were having the combined screening test, I plonked myself onto the large chair and as she lowered the chair I had visions of being at the dreaded dentist. Thankfully this was a lot less traumatic than my dental experiences. I lowered my leggings, pulled up my top and had some tissue folded over my leggings. Next came the cold, slimy goo and suddenly I had a small hard scanner on my lower tummy. There was a slight pressure, but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

Then the screen came to life! There was this tiny little being doing multiple somersaults right in front of our eyes! We both seemed to simultaneously exclaim, "WOW" at the same time and were mesmerised by what we were seeing. As the lady waited for our baby to stay still (the baby was very active!), she finally was able to zoom in and take many measurements for our screening test, my hand gripping hold of Chris' hand tightly. The lady said all measurements were looking good and would get a letter the following week if things were fine or a phonecall in the next few days if they needed to take further tests. She was pretty confident we would receive a letter confirming that we were at a lower risk of Down's Syndrome, which we did.

Then came the dating part of the scan where our due date was worked out. We had provisionally been given a due date of 18th August 2015 from our midwife. With the measurements on screen, this was changed to 20th August 2015. A real summer baby! 

We then saw a nurse who took some bloods from me, which I'm so glad I don't have a problem with. Up until the pregnancy I regularly donated blood throughout the year. After buying a couple of scan photos we were soon on our way back home walking on cloud nine. At this point, we were happy to tell our siblings as well as close friends and relatives. Finally we could share our happiness with them and talk more openly about all things baby. We weren't ready to announce it to the rest of the world yet, so a decision was made to wait until the 20 week scan for that milestone.

Did you have any worries running up to your first scan? Was your experience everything you thought it would be and more? Let me know and comment below..

BABY: The First Trimester

I'm writing this post whilst 23 + 6 weeks pregnant, but thought I would take us back to the first trimester of my pregnancy...

I was 5 weeks pregnant when I actually took the pregnancy test. Initially we thought we wouldn't tell anyone until we had it confirmed at the doctor's surgery. I suppose nothing really ever goes to plan as we pretty much told both sets of parents straight away and swore them to secrecy until we were ready to announce it ourselves. It was all just too exciting! The decision to keep it a secret from everyone else was mainly from the panic that bad things can happen at such an early stage and we didn't want to tempt fate.

I'm not sure if everyone else is as clueless as I was, but I assumed you book a doctor's appointment who do a pregnancy test and, if positive, they hook you up with a midwife. Maybe that is what happens in some parts of the country? Well, here in Cornwall they apparently do things differently. I was registering at the local surgery, with us just having moved here, so informed the nice lady on reception that I was pregnant. I was quickly informed that these days, pregnancy tests are very reliable so there was no need to book an appointment. It was just a matter of filling out a form for the midwife who would contact me to book an 8 week appointment.

So, over Christmas we both had this weird limbo where we were happy at me being pregnant, but still had this uncertainty at the back of our minds that it didn't feel official until a health professional gave us the thumbs up. As it goes, we met our lovely midwife who did the usual form filling, urine checking, blood taking, information giving and organising a 12 week scan with the hospital. I even took another pregnancy test just before the appointment, which was again very much positive. Things definitely felt more real for us.

First Trimester Symptoms:
Tiredness - For pretty much the whole of this trimester I felt very tired. I would end up napping during the afternoon and although my spirits were high, my energy was at an all time low. Chris was brilliant really, he would come home from work at 5pm and cook tea, do most of the housework, help with the laundry etc. Without too much PDA he really was my very own Superman *grabs the sick bucket*.

Morning Sickness - On the subject of sick buckets, I had no morning sickness throughout this trimester. There was a rare moment in Morrisons where the smell of all of the mixtures of food made me feel a bit iffy, but no actual vomiting occurred. The same goes for our fridge. The fridge was my own personal nemesis. I was a million percent certain that there was something rank smelling in there that was making me feel queasy every time I opened it. Much to my annoyance I was assured that it all smelt fine to the non-pregnant nose.

Boobies - Sore boobs soon became a reality. They were so tender, even if I accidentally brushed against things. They did seem to grow a little and become more veiny under the skin. My areolas were noticeably getting darker too, which didn't really bother me, it was the tenderness that was frustrating and, to be frank, a bit of a bitch.

Urination - Frequent urination became noticeable very early on for me. This is probably because I'm one of those naughty people who forgets to drink and so doesn't seem to go as often as I probably should. But boy was I making up for lost time on the peeing front. I would even be getting up during the night for a little wee, which was unheard of in my pre-pregnancy days.

Nasal Problems - As I mentioned before, my sense of smell was definitely heightened, mainly to horrible smelling odours. I also had a permanently stuffed up nose for the whole trimester and got through a mountain of tissues.

Weight Gain - Although I didn't look pregnant, I definitely was more bloated and was finding that I was gaining weight quicker than I would usually. Thankfully it was easy to blame this on the annual Christmas binge eating.

Cravings - I didn't actually have any weird cravings. I did find that philadelphia on a toasted bagel was all I wanted for lunch. I did also go off strong garlicky foods, coleslaw and anything with raw onion in... cooked onion was fine.

This trimester seemed to be over oh so quickly. Have you had similar experiences during your first trimester? Feel free to comment below, I would love to see how yours differed to mine.

BABY: Our Pregnancy Story

Our first photo together where I am actually pregnant! (Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall)

I thought it would be quite nice to put pen to paper and write down how our pregnancy came about. This could be a longer post than usual, so get yourself a cuppa and enjoy!

Having a baby has been something that both myself and Chris have always wanted. We both have two siblings with similar enjoyable upbringings and knew that children would hopefully be on the cards at some point in our lives. I suppose, without even planning it this way, our lives have taken a rather traditional path. Relationship, Marriage then Pregnancy.

To be honest, this probably had more to do with having a relationship with a military man. Marriage typically happens quickly in military relationships, as you cant live in married quarters unless you are actually married. Married quarters make life a whole lot easier when you can potentially be moving every three years.

We married in September 2013 after a few years together and had both made the mutual decision that after Chris returned from a six month tour away in Afghanistan, we would try for a baby. Whilst he was away I finished my last pack of contraceptive pill and didn't go back to the doctors for a repeat prescription.

Chris returned for two weeks R&R in September 2014 and the following month he finally returned for good. During this time we hadn't conceived, and it doesn't matter that your brain tells you that a window of two weeks would make it highly unlikely for successfully conceiving, your heart still feels a little disappointed.

Once Chris returned, we had three weeks before we moved from Norfolk to his new posting in Cornwall. Life had suddenly become very exciting and we were both full of beans at exploring this new part of the country.

Moving forward to the start of December, we celebrated Chris' 30th birthday together and had a whirlwind trip of travelling from Cornwall to Newcastle and back again to go see a Michael Buble concert. Surprisingly I made a decision to not drink, mainly because I was so tired from the journey. I think I also had a faint hope that perhaps I shouldn't drink.... just in case!

Ten days later.....
I had been due on my period this week and it hadn't shown up. Not to get too excited, I told Chris that if it hadn't made an appearance in the next few days, I would take a pregnancy test that we had purchased earlier that week. On 14th December, there was still no sign of my period and I couldn't sleep for thinking about it, so I decided to just bite the bullet and take one of the tests. Can I just say that trying to pee on a stick and simultaneously counting the seconds is a lot harder than I ever thought it could be. Truthfully, I was still thinking the worst, but lo and behold it changed to "pregnant" pretty quickly! The excitement and emotions that came were unbelievable. It didn't feel real! I debated running upstairs and blurting it out to Chris, but I made the decision to hatch a plan and sneakily get back into bed and hide it next to me. The plan was to surprise him with it and have one of those romantic moments that you see on TV.

Chris stirred and got up to use the toilet. In my head I thought this plan was going brilliantly! Now all I had to do was place it on his side of the bed, so when he got back into bed, he would pick it up and read it. This seemed simple enough, but nothing ever goes to plan... especially when you're married to my husband! The toilet flushed, he plodded back into the bedroom, put his dressing gown on and said, "Now I'm up, I think I'll go downstairs and catch up on last night's Match of the Day". He didn't even glance at me or the bed. My romantic plan was scuppered, I had seconds to say something.. anything before he walked out of the room! I opted for "LOOK ON THE BED!" (or something very similar). He finally picked it up and had the look of disbelief that I probably had plastered on my face, I'm not ashamed to say I shed some happy tears as we had a little cuddle.

And yes...... he did then go watch last night's Match of the Day. Who said romance was dead?!

Very Exciting News!

So, I know I know, it's been a while blah blah.. but there is a very important reason why I have been absent since my last post. Yep, you've guessed it, it was probably the opening photo that gave it away? WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!

As you already know, the only baby we have in our lives is the seriously spoilt Alfie the cat. Yes, I am one of those crazy cat ladies who humanises their cat. It's fine though, I've come to terms with this fact. I'm not going to lie to you, amidst all of our gleeful squeals of excitement, we are slightly worried at how jealous Alfie may get when the little one arrives. To be fair though, once the baby is crying at all times of the day and night, I'm sure the jealousy will fade away into something that is more describable as annoyance.

Our family have known for quite a while now and we have also done the obligatory Facebook announcement post (slightly lame but it really is the easiest way to simultaneously let everyone else in our life know that, no, I'm not just piling on the pounds for the fun of it). In fact, to finally have it all out in the open is brilliant and is the biggest weight off my mind. I never thought I would be the girl who would wait until the 20 week scan date to make it public knowledge. I thought I would immediately inform the world as soon as I knew myself, but then the fear settles in that anything could happen to this tiny little bun in the oven, so you put it off and put it off until, suddenly you're half way through the pregnancy! Who knew!?!

So, I think that's it for this post. I may start doing more baby related posts, so if you want to, sit down, buckle yourself in and join us for the roller coaster ride that is the second half of our first pregnancy.

Guess Who's Back?! (Back, Back)

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) Lincoln Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, The Petwood Hotel, Chris at Petwood, Plaque spotted on a house.

Hello There! It has been a while.. Heck it's been bloomin' ages. To think that I last posted in May seems unbelievable, but May it was.

2014 was probably one of the strangest years of my life. My husband Chris was on tour for 6 months (he's in the British Forces). So I spent the summer alone with the cat, just working and seeing friends and family. It was a really chilled 6 months, not a sad and depressing period, but not an ecstatically happy period either. Surprisingly time went quickly, and before I knew it, September had arrived and Chris was back for his 2 weeks R&R. We managed to coincide his R&R with our 1st Wedding Anniversary. Chris surprised me when he booked a table at Morston Hall. This is a beautiful hotel, set in the stunning location of Holt, Norfolk. The restaurant has one Michelin Star and is run by the celebrity chef Galton Blackiston. 

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) Champagne from Morston, One of Chris' presents from me - lyrics from our first dance, Menu from Morston Hall, Anniversary selfies at Holt.

We didn't stay in the hotel as we had booked 3 nights away at The Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. This is where we had our Wedding Reception after our church wedding the previous year. We travelled up there the day after our anniversary and had the best time finally getting time to explore the well established grounds; have massages in the beauty spa; spend a day shopping in nearby Lincoln and eat as much food as we could manage! We opted for one of the superior double rooms as the suites were all booked up. Our room was next door to our wedding night suite though, which I thought was great as the view of the manicured gardens was near identical!

Chris returned to his tour away and unfortunately he missed a family wedding in London by 24 hours! Not to rub it in, but I went and it was brilliant! During this time we found out that we were being posted to a new base when Chris returned in November! So, after his return in October (YAY) it was really just a month of handing in my notice at work, and getting things packed and sorted for the big move from Norfolk to Newquay! 

This has been a great move as we are now in married quarters, so I feel much more like I belong to a community, albeit a military one. Although we are further from family and I miss my friends like crazy, we are making friends here and spending lots of much needed quality time together. I was so worried about how our cat Alfie would settle in, but two months down the line he is doing fine. Having said that, the 7 hour car journey with no radio (for the cat's benefit) was quite painful for us... Well maybe for Chris as I filled the silence with my singing. It has really been worth the upheaval as Cornwall really is breathtakingly beautiful and all of the local towns are fantastic to explore. Oh..... I forgot to mention, we successfully cooked a delicious Christmas Dinner all by ourselves. Proud grown up moment!

So I think you're pretty much caught up. The following are some photos of 2014 that sum up the rest of last year...

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) My iPhone countdown, My birthday cake, Selfie from Chris' farewell meal at Arbuckles, Alfie deciding to go on tour with Chris, Fudge Woods - my In Law's Spaniel.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right) My engraved wedding ring, Summer selfie, Me chillin' with Alfie, Car selfie, Surprise bunch of flowers delivered to me.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) Wedding Selfie, Chris enjoying a pint a Petwood, Steep Hill Lincoln, Alfie and his cushion, Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) A dearly loved scrabble frame present from a crafty friend, Our purchases from Padstow Christmas Festival, Tulips, Welcome Home Chris, Alfie.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right:) My friends surprising me with a leaving afternoon tea, Gingerbread latte, Road trip selfie, Surfers at Newquay, A leaving present on my last shift.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right) Porth Beach, Homemade leaving cupcakes, Michael Buble Concert selfie, Bedruthan Steps Selfie, Alfie's Nose.

(Top to Bottom; Left to Right) Stuffing our faces with Cornish Pasties selfie, View over Newquay, Newquay Harbour, Christmas jumper selfie, My parents and Chris in Newquay.

How was the rest of your year? What adventures did you get up to?

April Favourites

How can April already be over? So much has been going on for me this month and these products have helped me get through this month in their own way.

Cath Kidston Mug // This was a birthday present from my Sister-in-law, who obviously knows me well as I love both Cath Kidston designs and hot drinks. Apart from the beautiful floral design, I really love the size of this mug. It is not so small that I feel like I need another brew immediately after finishing the first, but not so large that I never finish it. Who do I think I am.. Goldilocks?

The *TeaShed Teabags // This also came as a bonus present for me along with my mug. I adore Earl Grey tea. I know a lot of people find the fragrant taste a little overpowering, but I really think it's one of my favourite types of tea. The packaging of this is lovely with, "Probably Definitely The Best Cup Of Tea" emblazoned on the side, which makes me smile every time I look at it. And, you know, I would actually have to agree. It really is perfect, especially when accompanied with a cheeky biscuit (or three).

Sweet Freedom // A few years ago I stopped taking sugar in my tea and changed to a sweetener. I found it helped with my sweet tooth, but helped me decrease my sugar intake. I know that there are many health concerns with regard to a regular usage of sweeteners so I have been looking out for another alternative that could become the new replacement. Well my friends, I think I have found it in the form of Sweet Freedom. In the bottle it looks like golden syrup, but it is actually made 100% from natural fruit extracts. It also has 25% fewer calories than sugar, which is always a good thing. It's in a squirty bottle so it is clean and simple to squirt into your tea, baking or cereal etc.

Papaya Body Butter // I picked this up in one of The Body Shop's many clearance sales. They also do many promotions on their website, so if you are a TBS fan then get yourself on there! I paid £5 for this and it was certainly money well spent. Having quite dry skin, I really benefit from a more nourishing body moisturiser. I have no problems in putting this on after my shower and getting dressed pretty much straight away. There is no stickiness and my skin drinks it up beautifully. It literally smells so summery and fruity that I can't stop smelling my arm on my way to work. Standard.

Hand Dream // I featured this hand cream in my Soap & Glory Haul and I have not been disappointed. I work in a cold environment at work, which makes my hands incredibly dry in between my fingers. This not only smells delicious, but soaks in quickly and doesn't leave my hands feeling greasy. That is my one pet hate. It is actually quite a large bottle so I've been keeping this at the side of my bed to put on when needed.

Palmer's Swivel Stick // This is one of my favourite lip balms ever. It is pretty huge and people do make fun of me at work when I pull it out of my bag. Most people think I'm putting Pritt Stick on my lips, well they probably wish I was with me being a little chatterbox. It is a cocoa butter based lip balm, which feels smooth when applied on the lips and really helps to nourish my lips when they are feeling sore. I do use it under lipsticks sometimes, but it can make things a little slippery if applied straight after. Give it 5 minutes and it will sink in nicely. Because of the size, it can be used for dry skin patches and elbows but mine never makes it past my lips.

Wax Lyrical Colony Candle // I was actually doing a very middle aged thing where myself and Chris went to the supermarket and popped into the adjoining Dobbies store. If you've not heard of Dobbies it is a bit like a garden centre crossed with The Range. I get lost in the homeware sections every time, much to Chris' annoyance. I was on the lookout for a new candle and spotted this amongst the Yankee Candles. I liked that the company is based in Cumbria and their products are made in the UK. I spent ages sniffing them all and finally chose Mandarin & Peach. It really does manage to throw it's scent around the room. It doesn't burn as evenly as more expensive candles, but it isn't terrible by any means. I have it on the table next to me in the living room and love getting the occasional whiff of fruit. Perfect for Spring.

Whiskas Dentabits // No, this is not my mid-afternoon snack after my daily cat nap. (geddit!) These are for Alfie the cat. If he could he would eat cat treats instead of his food. He may need to go to rehab for his addiction. What I've tried to do is meet him in the middle and get him cat treats which have additional benefits. These treats are quite knobbly in shape, which are supposed to help clean Alfie's teeth. Whether it works, I'm not sure, but he enjoys eating them anyway.

Pedometer // Now this is not anything crazy expensive, It was just a cheap bargain from EBay. I actually purchased 3, as myself and my friends at work wanted to see how many steps we were taking at work. I do a 5 hour shift and am averaging around 4000 steps. Not bad eh! It does resemble a plastic toy and has been prone to fly off my trousers when bending down, but for 99p, I'm really not going to complain.

So there we have it, these are my April favourites. What have you been loving this month?

All products featured were purchased by myself or were presents from my family.

Birthday Jewellery

Well hello there guys! Sorry about the gap in blog posts. The husband has now left the country and I have just been adjusting my routine accordingly. Well, Alfie the cat and my good self haven't changed things around too much, but I am finding myself going to bed a lot earlier, having more full blown conversations with Alfie and there's a lot more dancing around and singing at the top of my voice. Standard.

So anyway, let's take it back to April Fool's Day. My birthday! On a side note, how am I now 29 years old? I don't feel it but I'm sure this is how most people feel. Let's be honest here though, age is just a number and I am not at all scared at getting older.  I had booked the day off work so I managed to get breakfast in bed and was presented with my cards and presents. I didn't really ask for anything, as there's nothing that I desperately needed. I did get some lovely gift cards, pretty mugs, tea, socks etc.

Something that was different this year was that I actually got jewellery. This is completely out of the ordinary and I was actually really touched. The first present that I opened was from my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. This was the Lotus Bud Necklace from Tatty Devine. My brother-in-law's girlfriend actually works at Tatty Devine and she picked this out for me. The neon green and pink is perfect for the Spring and Summer. I think this necklace was actually from their SS2013 season, and unfortunately is no longer available on their site.

 

The next present I opened was from my parents. Now this ring is something I've had for probably 6 or 7 years. It was originally a holiday present from the parents, brought back from Tenerife. The ring is silver and has 3 stones that are made from local volcanic rocks. It was something I would wear every day on my middle finger and one day (two years ago) one of the stones came out. Very sad times *sobs*. My mum told me to hand it over and she promised to get it fixed. Fast forward two years and we both finally remembered that she still had it and now I have been reunited with said ring, YAY!

The final present I opened was from my husband Chris. This was a complete surprise. He had only gone and got me a Pandora bracelet! Wowsers!! He was feeling pretty smug as I fell in love with it instantly and proudly told me that he chose it himself (he may have rung his Sister for some guidance). This bracelet is part of their Essence collection. You buy the necklace by itself and then you can add Essence Charms to it. Each charm has a different meaning which I think helps to make it really personal. The charms that Chris chose all had specific meanings for us. Firstly Love was pretty self explanatory! Secondly Trust was to help me remember to trust that he will be safe and fine whilst he is away. Strictly no worrying allowed! Finally Positivity was to remind me to keep my sunny disposition whilst he was away, instead of being sad and morose. My Mother-in-law also got me one last Essence Charm which was Wellness. Again, Chris helped to choose this whilst she was on the phone but this was mainly based on how ornate it looked, but she obviously wants me to stay well!

Quick disclaimer - I am in no way suggesting you rush out to buy these or am trying to show off. I just thought you would like to see some pretty pieces of jewellery that mean so much and are now all close to my heart.