I'm a Winner!

The other week I entered a competition over at Swish and Swanky, which is the lovely Amanda's gorgeous interior design blog. And I won! Yay for me.

The competition was for a set of beautiful wall canvases from Gelati Art and I chose mine to be pale blue and white to work with the colours that I am using in the nursery.



I can't wait until they arrive so that I can include them in my decorating!

I also highly recommend that if you are into all things beautiful and love pouring over design blogs (like I do), that you go and check out Amanda's blog. You won't be sorry :)

T xx

Baby Shower Invitations

As promised, I thought I would show you the baby shower invitations that I made. They have all been posted out and the RSVP's are mostly all in.


The invites are based around the theme my Sister (Jen) and I are planning for the shower and also the theme that I am planning for the nursery. I have also been busy making things for the shower itself and Jen has been putting together the menu and entertainment side of things.

Hopefully we manage to pull it all off and I will have some great photos to post after the event!

T xx

A Baby Girl

One of my good friends Nat had a baby girl last night! When I found out I was so excited that I started to cry.

I haven't had a chance to visit her yet, but from all accounts she, the baby and her husband are all doing very well. The Big Man and I are heading back up to Hervey Bay midway through this week to return the ute that we borrowed, so hopefully (if Nat feels up to it) we can visit her and meet little Kate Ella then.

Although I should really have already come to terms with the fact that I am having a baby, every now and then something will happen that will really drive it home to me. Nat having her baby was one of those times. Nat called to tell me she was pregnant after she got through the first 12 weeks and it was only a week later that I found out that I was pregnant. All the way through our pregnancies we have been comparing stories and she has been letting me know what to expect next. So now that she has had her baby, I guess I am next!

T xx

Hopefully the next one is a girl

This weekend I am up in Hervey Bay picking up some baby furniture from my sister. I love coming up to Hervey Bay, we always get to catch up with my sister and her family and the Big Man's family. Normally we make an effort to catch up with our friends, but we are on a tight schedule this weekend, so it is family time only.

One of my favourite things to do when I come up here is to do my nieces hair. She's not a huge fan of having her hairbrushed, but she is generally really good about it. She has beautiful blond hair that goes all the way down her back. Perfect for a clucky Mum-to-be to braid! Yesterday I did her hair in heidi platts and she looked so, so cute :)

It was a bit messy at the back, but only if you looked closely ;)

The furniture that we are taking back with us is a baby cot, a bassinet, a baby bath and change table and we're also picking up a whole lot of plants from the Big Man's parents, Christmas decorations from my sister and a few bits and pieces that I am borrowing for my baby shower.

I am so excited to get home and start piecing together the baby's room. I also ordered a few bits and pieces on etsy the other day so that I can start decorating the room....

Owl Decal from SurfaceFlik's Etsy Store

Small Owl Picture from LeeArthaus - Etsy

More pictures as it all comes together!

T xx

32 Weeks

Today marks the 32 week mark in my pregnancy! I thought I would mark the occasion with this questionnaire that I saw over at Not So Newlywed.

How far along:
32 Weeks, wow!

Total weight gain/loss:
I have gained 9 kilos so far, and with 8 weeks to go I think this is going to get a lot worse.

Maternity clothes:
I have some maternity clothes (which I love), but the best two things I have bought are a belly-belt kit (pants extenders) and two belly bands. Both from the maternity section at target. With these I have been able to keep on wearing most of my pre-pregnancy pants and skirts. Although I can't fit into my regular jeans anymore... I think this has more to do with the size of my bum though.....

Sleep:
Not too bad most nights. Lots of trips to the bathroom each night and aching hips are the two major sleep problems that I am experiencing at the moment.

Best moment this week:
Realising that the baby could be arriving anytime in the next 6 to 10 weeks :)

Movement:
I have been able to feel him move since about 16 weeks, the Big Man has been able to feel him since about 23 weeks. I have been able to see him move since 27 weeks. This last week the amount of movement that I have been feeling is a lot less, I think this is because he is running out of space and is a bit crowded.

Food cravings:
Basically if I hear about a certain food I start craving it. This morning a twitterer that I follow tweeted that he dreamed about Orange Sherbet Sandwiches.... yep, now I'm craving orange sherbet (my mouth is watering as I type). Another twitterer that I follow has a plate of nachos as his picture and everytime he tweets I crave nachos. Unfortunately the Big Man has no interest in going out and buying me food at odd hours of the day, so most of the time my cravings go unfulfilled.

Gender:
Boy!!

Labor Signs:
Lots of braxton-hicks contractions. These combined with nausea, back pain and diarrea (sorry if TMI) have had me stressed out and up at the hospital.

Belly Button in or out:
Still in, looks like its probably staying in.

What I miss:
Soft cheese, coffee, caffeine of any description, champagne and being able to see my toes

What I am looking forward to:
My baby showers in a few weeks and meeting the little guy :)

Weekly Wisdom: Sleep in at every opportunity and make the most of your husband. Last night I called the Big Man out from his office because I wanted him to bring Cooper to me so that I could hug him. Cooper was only on the other end of the couch, but I was so comfy that I didn't want to move. The Big Man wasn't overly impressed, but brought me Cooper anyway because he loves me :)

Milestones:
Starting my third trimester was a big one, going part-time at work last week was another one. I think the next big one will be the start of my maternity leave.

I am still absolutely loving being pregnant and smile everytime I see my belly in the mirror and I'm starting to really look forward to meeting my little baby boy.

At out regular check up last week, our obstetrician was away so we met with the midwife. She had a good feel of my belly and decided that he was the size of a 34 week baby (and that was almost a week ago!). I don't know if this means that he is going to come early of if it means that I am going to push out a big baby. I guess we just have to wait and see...

T xx

Sneak Peak: Baby Shower Invitations

I picked up everything I need to make my baby shower invitations today. Here's a quick sneak peak...



It didn't take Ollie long to work out that something exciting was happening on the table and he decided to join in on the fun :)



I'll post pictures of the finished product a couple of days after I have mailed them out.

T xx

Cooper

I have taken this week off work and someone (who normally sleeps outside during the day) is making the most of it....



T xx

A Crafty Weekend

At the moment I am going through a bit of a phase where I hate being away from the Big Man. It is probably just anxiety rearing it's ugly head, but seeing as medication is out of the question I am embracing it rather than fighting it. This weekend it meant that whenever the Big Man was in the home office playing/working on his computer, I was in there too and I decided to use the time to get stuck into some of the craft projects I have been putting off.

The first item on my agenda was some decor items and art for the guest bedroom. The room had previously been set up as my bff's room, as I was storing all of her stuff at my house whilst she was overseas. Last week I packed up all of her things and sent them down to Adelaide for her, which left the room looking sad and bare. I didn't want to (ahem, couldn't afford to) buy anything to decorate the room with so I set my crafty mind to work. I haven't done anything major yet, but did cover a couple of cute little boxes to stack on one of the shelves and also made a piece of art to hang on the wall. I just need to paint a frame that I had lying around and it will be ready to go up on the wall. I need to make or find a few more pictures to go on the wall and the room will be perfect (for now!). I will post photos of the room as soon as it is finished.

The next thing I got started on was some owl's for the nursery. I am not sure if I am going to make an owl mobile or if I will just make some stuffies to sit on a shelf.... I picked up some fabric yesterday and am going to give this pattern that was posted on Craft Blog a go. I started out by hand sewing the owls, but realised that was kind of dumb now that I have a sewing machine. So I got out my instruction manual, worked out how to wind and thread the bobbin, how to thread the needle and to put the foot down (which took the longest!). Eventually I got the sewing machine working and it turns out machine sewing is a lot quicker and easier than hand sewing.... who knew! Anyway, no finished products yet, but I will post pictures when they are done.

The last thing I started yesterday were my baby shower invitations. Although my sister is hosting the baby shower, I really wanted to make the invitations myself. I planned them out and decided what I needed, but when I went to go to the scrapbooking store I had a flat battery in my car :( The Big Man got it fixed for me, but by then the shop was closed. Still at least I have an idea about what I want to make, I just need to find time to and pick up my supplies.

All in all a very crafty weekend. Next thing you know I will be making Christmas Cards and decorations!

T xx

Ante-Natal Class

Our first ante-natal class is over and done with and it turns out it wasn't as scary as I was anticipating.

The class was focused on labour, when to know you are in labour and pain relief. All the things I am nervous about! Before the class I hadn't really thought much about having a birth plan, but now that I am armed with so much (too much!) knowledge I think I have a better idea of the way we would like things to go (if all goes to plan).

The one thing I am still really unsure about is an epidural. We were told at the class that only 50% of epidurals actually have the desired effect, the other 50% may work but are patchy, or may not work at all. And then there is also the (very slim) risk of paraplegia or death..... I think I would be all for it if they could offer me a 90% success rate, but a one in two chance that it won't take the pain away doesn't really seem like good odds. If someone told me that there was a 50% chance of getting food poisoning if I ate a piece of chicken, I definitely wouldn't eat it.

The other aspect that is bothering me about epidurals is the whole catheter thing. They passed one around for us to have a look at, and it completely freaked me out. I don't want to be stuck in bed, with a catheter, unable to move around due to the epidural, but still in agony! Don't get me wrong, I know that labour is going to be painful and hard work, but if I am going to be in all sorts of pain I think that I want to have the option to move around and change positions as I need to.

On the other hand, if I had an epi and it did work. I would probably be really, really happy about that! The midwife that ran our class did say that the majority of women that give birth at the hospital I am going to, choose to have either a caesar or an epidural. So maybe I am just over thinking it all and should just go with the flow.

This decision would be so much easier if this was my second time and I knew what to expect....

T xx

Getting Ready

Tonight the Big Man and I are going to our first antenatal class. I am really looking forward to it, but also really nervous. Nervous because I don't what to expect, excited because it is a new step in this crazy pregnancy journey and really, really nervous because I am still kind of in denial about the fact that I am going to be giving birth in roughly ten weeks.

I tweeted this morning asking whether or not I should be nervous and so far the feedback has been mostly good (my brother in law did warn me about the videos....). And all of the Mum's at work are really excited and think that I will love the classes.

So my questions to the Mum's out there are.... Any horror stories? Anything that I need to prepare myself for? Or are the classes really great?

T xx

30 Weeks

Yep, 30 weeks! It feels like it has taken forever to get this far, but now that I am here I can't believe I only have ten weeks to go.

My belly has really popped out in the last couple of weeks and I feel really pregnant. The baby is hanging out very low, which means plenty of trips to the bathroom during the night. But I have been really lucky not to have any heartburn so far. I am also getting lots of kicks, baby hiccups and am experiencing braxton hicks contractions about every second day/night.

This week we start our antenatal classes and I am really looking forward to them. The classes will probably help this all feel more 'real'. I still can't quite grasp the fact that in a couple of months I am going to be a Mum!

Cooper wanted in on the action :)

T xx

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

On my day off last Thursday I was getting a lot of braxton hicks pains, as well as nausea and back-pain. I was sure that they were just bh so I wasn't too worried, but I decided to do a bit of Googling to reassure myself. One of the forums I came across had the following comment posted to it. It hit home with me in a big way so I decided to re-post it here...

Original comment here.

"No one ever told me my belly would get hairy, that stretch marks itch, and that I would possibly break out in worse pimples than puberty, they failed to mention that I could cry at the sight of a Frigmobile or Toll truck working on a Sunday , that my feet would expand along with my waist line, that my boobs would grow to enormous proportions, and that my nose would run constantly....No one told me that sneezing could make you feel like you are going to wet yourself, and that your joints could actually get THAT stiff!!! That when the baby kicks it can hurt, and you will most likely never have control over "holding it" again without some serious PC squeezing!"

I could probably add that no-one told me about hip pain that is bad enough to stop me from sleeping, that braxton hicks can be really uncomfortable and the fact that pregnancy seems to last forever!

Even with all of the downsides it is still a really special experience. Every single negative is easily out-weighed by the realization that I will soon get to hold the baby in my arms and every kick reminds me how happy I am to finally be pregnant.

Now if I can just get through the next ten weeks and the labour, all will be good!

T xx

Pregnant Blogging

At the moment my absolute favourite blogs to read are ones where the author is pregnant. It's probably because I am so excited about my own pregnancy. I just love reading about how other expecting Mums are going, the ups and downs they are encountering and all of the joy that they are experiencing.

The 'pregnant blogs' that I am currently following are:

Belly Story

Jeanie in Paradise

Jen-ology (Jen just had her baby last week)

Not so Newly-Wed

Georgie Girl

Please let me know of any other pregnant bloggers that you follow and love. I just can't get enough of reading about other people's pregnancys!!

Thanks T xx