*collaborative post*
If you or someone you know is struggling with secondary infertility, today’s guest post is a must read. I feel very fortunate to have three wonderful children but I understand that infertility is something that impacts thousands of families. If you have been impacted by secondary infertility, this post is full of useful advice and coping strategies.
*collaborative post*
Today’s guest post is one for the mums-to-be. I remember when I was pregnant, I found it really hard to keep track of what was and wasn’t allowed! You want to spend this time getting ready for your new baby, not constantly searching what you can and can’t eat. This guest post shares five things that you will need to cut out when pregnant.
*collaborative post*
I have been working from home for the past 7 years. I have been a blogger, copyrighter, personal assistant and social media manager all from the comfort of my own home. Working from home has its challenges but it is a great option for mums and mums-to-be looking for a better work/life balance. If you have a baby arriving in 2022 and want to start working from home, todays guest post has lots of job inspiration for you. Personally, I love the flexibility I have working from home and can’t see myself getting a 9-5 in an office anytime soon. View Post
*collaborative post*
When I was pregnant for the first time I can remember being so stressed about food. What can I eat? What can’t I eat? What will happen if I accidently do eat something on the do not eat when pregnant list? It was a very stressful time for 21 year old me! If you have stumbled across this article I guess you are pregnant and wondering about what your diet should look now you are growing a baby. Firstly, congratulations! Secondly, don’t spend another second stressing about food as this guest post has lots of information on what foods you need to get in pregnancy and what changes you need to make to your diet. I hope you have a healthy and happy pregnancy and remember it is totally fine to treat yourself to some cake! View Post
*collaborative post*
Today’s guest post is all about preparing yourself to become a parent for the very first time. I was 22 when I first became a mum, it seems like such a long time ago now, a different life almost! I don’t think anyone can ever be completely prepared when it comes to parenting but it definitely does help to do some research and get organised as much as you can. If you are expecting a baby and are about to be a parent for the first time then hopefully you will find this post useful. View Post
*collaborative post*
I don’t think there’s ever been a time in my life that I’ve loved my body more than when I have been pregnant. I am always so in awe of the pregnant body and everything it can do, growing a human is like actual magic. I respect and love my pregnant body and although I sometimes struggle with the weight gain, I love watching my belly grow as it means the baby is healthy and growing too. My relationship with my postpartum body is very different. Whilst I am still in awe and have never ending respect and appreciation towards my body for bringing my babies into the world, I struggle to love my post baby body on an aesthetic and superficial level. Today’s guest post gives a realistic insight into body image during and after pregnancy and explores how you can learn to love your body. View Post
*collaborative post – this post contains gifted items*
I am now 38 weeks pregnant with baby number 3 – 38 weeks! I am uncomfortable, grumpy a whole lot of the time and the size of a cow that has indulged in waaay too much grass. Most of all though, I am excited! It might sound strange to lots of women, especially those who have had a difficult birth in the past, but I am really looking forward to labour. There are the obvious plus points to baby girl making her move earth side: no longer feeling like I have swallowed an over inflated balloon full of cement, not having to deal with heartburn/hormones/pains every day and ,of course, I will get to meet my daughter at last. These aren’t the only reasons I am looking forward to the big day though, I am planning a homebirth and I can not wait to have a positive and empowering birth (all going to plan, of course). Over the last few weeks I have been busy getting my home prepared for my homebirth and my state of mind ready too. After all, giving birth isn’t easy wherever you do it! I have been reading up lots on hypnobirthing and getting into a relaxed, positive and confident frame of mind is essential to having a positive birth. If you are thinking about having a homebirth too, here is my check list of everything I am doing to prepare myself and my home for a natural and relaxing homebirth – fingers crossed! View Post
I am not loving this third pregnancy of mine. In fact, most of my time is spent daydreaming about the day my daughter is born, not just because I can’t wait to meet her but because I can not wait to not be pregnant anymore. Some days, and I know there will be some judgemental person out there about to spit out their tea with shock but I’m saying it anyway, I hate being pregnant; I hate it. You know what though? I am not keeping quiet about my lack of enjoyment in my body growing another human because pregnancy is hard sometimes and none of us mums-to-be should be ashamed to admit that. If you are pregnant now and feel the same, if you wake up every day wishing you could just time travel to your due date so this whole gestating business can be over with then please know you are not on your own. I feel you mama, it’s tough. What makes it even harder is that we are told we are supposed to LOVE pregnancy, to be grateful and just be quiet and bask in our blooming pregnancy glow (it doesn’t exist, by the way). There are lots of reasons to enjoy being pregnant and I do have days where I am swishing around the house in a floaty dress, cradling my bump as baby kicks away and I wonder what she will be like. I am not trying to convince the world to feel sorry for us expectant mums, pregnancy can be wonderful. Being pregnant can also be really shit too. To get across my point and to help the non pregnant population to understand that us humans growing humans are totally allowed to not enjoy pregnancy sometimes, I have written this list of the reasons why being pregnant can be so hard. View Post
I am not writing this post to take anything away from first time mums to be who find pregnancy difficult; being pregnant is hard work whether it’s your first time or your fifth. Surviving pregnancy with a toddler though? Well, growing a human whilst simultaneously looking after a tiny human is seriously challenging. When I was pregnant with Alex, Leo was about two and half and just over three when his brother was born. This time, with baby number three, Leo is five and Alex had just turned two the week before I discovered another baby was on the way. I have been pregnant twice now while also being a toddler mama and I have found it soo much harder than my first pregnancy. Looking back at the time when I was pregnant with Leo is like looking back fondly on a relaxing holiday, the pregnancy was a breeze compared to the subsequent two where I now had little people running rings around me. It may not seem it at times but you can make it through pregnancy in one piece while looking after a toddler – honest! You just need to accept that some days are going to be hard and please lovely mums, please accept any help that is offered to you. I am going to share my survival guide with you and I have also asked the mum of two or more community for their tips on coping during pregnancy when you have a toddler. I hope you find this post helpful and never forget this one thing..you can do this!! View Post
I am now almost 31 weeks pregnant with my third baby and things are getting really real now. Baby girl no longer kicks gently like soft fluttering butterfly wings stroking my skin, her limbs are instead poking out all over the place and she is constantly booting me in the ribs! My belly is huge and is stretching more everyday, I also have a pretty impressive waddle going on. The weeks are now down into single digits and I can say baby is due in 2 months now which feels insane as the day I found out back in November feels like last week. As my due date gets closer I am finding myself lost in thoughts about what life is going to be like once our daughter arrives. Something I am worrying about is how I will cope with three young children and whether I will get postnatal depression again. I’ve written a poem to try and get all these muddled thoughts out, to try and make sense of how I am feeling. It’s called Who will I be when there are three? If you too have suffered with postnatal depression and are now pregnant again, I am sure some of these words will resonate with you. View Post
*guest post – written in collaboration with Emily Jones*
One of the perks of being pregnant is having an excuse to go on holiday before baby arrives. It’s totally a thing and it’s called a babymoon! Oli and I went to Venice back in March without the kids and it was so lovely. Babymoons are a great time to relax and connect as a couple before baby comes along and you have no time to even think about a holiday. I have a lovely guest post today, it features some wonderful Italian destinations for your babymoon and there are lots of tips to help you get the most out of your babymoon too. Enjoy! View Post
Ahh pregnancy, a time where women hug their beautiful baby bumps, big smiles on their perfectly clear skinned faces, with their hair falling in thick shiny locks around their shoulders. Right? Well no, not really, not most of the time anyway. Don’t despair, there are times where pregnancy is wonderful (hello lovely butterfly baby kicks) but pregnancy is a lot harder for us women than the glossy magazines would have you believe. I am pregnant for the third time and have to tell you, those glowing moments have been very few and far between over the last six months, I could probably count them all on one hand. I understand why we don’t really tell mums to be about all the less than pretty parts of pregnancy, we want them to enjoy this special time and not scare them to death BUT I do think a bit of realism never hurt anybody. It’s best to be prepared, right? So, here I am dishing the truth on pregnancy, sharing the stuff no one tells you about. If you would rather stay living in the land of denial then maybe you should go read something else but be sure to stop by my blog again some other time! View Post
*Sponsored guest post*
If you are into gadgets and new inventions AND you are pregnant, then prepare for a post that is right up your street. Today I have a really interesting guest post from the team at Aniball. Aniball is a product that helps you prepare your pelvic floor ready for labour and can even reduce your risk of tearing during delivery – who wouldn’t want that? I hope you find this post useful pregnant mamas, there are definitely some things I want to try out (number 1 being the most urgently needed!). View Post
** Since I wrote and published this post this morning, we have been for our 20 week scan and despite being adamant I wasn’t going to ( for all the reasons set out in this post), I did, in fact, find out the sex of our baby! Well, it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind!**
I’m really excited today, it’s my 20 week scan! How I’m half through this pregnancy already I have no idea but I have been counting down to today. I’m so looking forward to seeing baba again, to see how much he/she has grown over the last 8 weeks. It may surprise you, considering this little one is our third, but we are not finding out today the sex of our baby. When the sonographer zooms in to check baba’s legs etc, I will not be looking too closely. I’m excited for the surprise on the big day, it’s only another 20 weeks to go! My decision not to find out the sex of baby number three seems to puzzle lots of people, I’ve had lots of ‘oh, really?!’ and ‘why not?!’ when I’ve told people we won’t be finding out. There are lots of arguments for and against having your baby’s gender revealed at the 20 week scan, I’ve done both and I have to say I’m definitely firmly in team wait for a surprise on delivery day. If you too have your 20 week scan coming up and can’t decide whether to find out if you are having a girl or boy, here I try to flesh out the debate s to finding out your baby’s sex at the 20 week scan and give the reasons why I think it is a good idea and why I think it is better to wait. I hope it helps you decide! View Post
Dear Baby,
Oh, please know before you read on that mummy loves you. Mummy loves you so so much; you are only the size of an avocado but my love is the size of the world. You have only been growing inside me for 16 weeks and 5 days, I have only seen black at white flickering images of you on an ultrasound scan, but I love you fiercely already. I promise. View Post
