Things that have helped me during pregnancy - Beauty, Technology, Accessories and More....

Skin

Pregnancy Acne - I have used simple moisturiser for as long as I can remember. If it ain't broke don't fix it was my motto, but when I got pregnant my skin changed a lot. I was breaking out in pregnancy acne and had major dry spots on my face.  My usual moisturiser was actually making it more irritable and I didn't know what to do.  I loved Lancôme products and had a consultation with one of the Lancôme reps.  She suggested I try Lancôme Hydra Zen.  This moisturiser was for stressed skin. Perfect for breakouts and dryness. I decided to try the rich version of it because I loved the texture and it didn't disappoint. My skin has improved so much. It really made my day and made me happy knowing that something was working and my skin wouldn't get worse.

Dry skin - As I explained above I was getting breakouts of dryness on my face.  A product I happen to try by chance was the No.7 Melting cleanser. Wow what a fantastic product.  It literally feels like silk when applying to the face and you feel so refreshed after.  This has really helped cleansing my face and making it softer.

Stretch marks

Yup my bump started to show pretty early and I had a couple of stretch marks from quick weight gain when I was on steroids in the past but I had a feeling with bump growing quickly I would get a couple more.  I had been using Palmers Stretch mark lotion but then changed to the oil. I usually find oils messy but this one was fab and it smells amazing.  I think it has helped. It keeps bump moisturised and stops any itching!

Aches and pains

Sleeping - Pretty much from the beginning of my pregnancy I started to use a small pregnancy pillow in between my legs when I was sleeping.  It was more comfortable. As bump started to grow it wasn't really working anymore so I then decided to invest in a full body pillow (which I have named Jeffery LOL) It has really helped, esp. with leg cramps and making sure bump is comfortable.  I literally cant sleep without it.

Information and Apps

Information is key! Never be afraid to ask questions.  I found throughout my pregnancy that if there is something different that day or random things you think about, it did no harm doing some research online and seeing that there were a lot of women out there feeling the same or thinking the same things.  With pregnancy being so new to me and my body changing so much it was good to research things that would help. I wasn't sure if there were any good apps out there that were pregnancy related and to be honest a few I downloaded weren't great. One app that I found really informative was an app called Pregnancy+.  You can put in your details like your due date etc. and it will update everyday with how far along you are, babies size, a daily blog (which every day pretty much has something relevant to what is going on at your stage of pregnancy), keep a check of your weight, has an appointment book and lots more. It really is a great daily app. If you are into technology like I am and love apps, this is one for you.

Midwifes and Antenatal Consultant

I am so lucky to have fantastic Midwifes.  So friendly, knowledgeable and kind.  My midwife appointments have been great. They give you that piece of mind and you keep your progress up to date.  I urge anyone who is pregnant to ask as many questions as you can.  Don't be afraid even if you think it is a stupid question, your midwife is there to help you.  I am also very lucky to have a team looking after baby and me for the duration of my pregnancy.  With my health condition they are going to keep an eye on me to make sure all goes well. I have to stop my Humira injections in the third trimester and of course this means my health condition could flare up so all of my consultants worked together to come up with a pregnancy plan.

Hope you enjoyed this post

Lots of Love

Purple Poodle xx

Baby Prep - fun and scary all at the same time!!

Oh my god... the amount of things you need to have ready for baby is unreal! I have to say its so much fun shopping for baby stuff but at the same time can be a little overwhelming just organising all the essentials you must have before baby arrives. You really have to take your time and not jump in at the first cute item you see, as some of those items you are going to use for awhile and you want to make sure you pick the right item that suits you! Don't go with what's popular at the time or something you have seen a celeb use.. its tempting but could end up being a useless purchase!

Pram/ Travel system

We looked at lots of different travel systems. At first we loved the Mama's and Papa's Urbo 2 , for its modern look and lightweight capabilities.  We then looked at the Oyster 2 , a lovely modern travel system and preferred the chassis and wheels on this pram.  Then we found the Jane Epic! This really had everything! It has a higher set seating position so I wont have to bend down low to get to baby. It is also lightweight and you are able to get an item called the Matrix light 2 - a carrycot/car seat combined! This means that when we travel with baby, he can travel in the sitting position or lying down in the car.  This will be great for baby when we travel home to Belfast. With this we can also install the Isofix base into the car making it easy to click the car seat in and out.


           


                               Above Left: Mamas and Papas Urbo 2   Above Right: Oyster 2

Above: Jane Epic Travel System with the Matrix Light 2

Storage

I love IKEA and until we move house and baby has a room to itself we opted for IKEA furniture to start.  IKEA do a great range in many price bands to suit all.  We wanted to keep it simple so opted for white and grey for colour.  We purchased a Malm chest of drawers as we seen a great IKEA hack to make it into a baby changer also.  We got the set of 4 drawers. I like the Malm range as it is nice and tall, with big drawers in it. We also got some drawer dividers so we could so little boxes of hats, bibs, vest etc. We purchased a Tommee Tippee Nappy Bin to go beside it, which will be really handy. We also got some Kallax tall units and put some of the Drona boxes in for extra storage as we already have a lot of clothing items, some we bought and others gifted to us, so the more storage the better.  We re arranged the kitchen already to see were we would fit the Tommie tippee equipment and make room for baby milk etc. We have really worked on the house to clear areas for certain items , like room for the pram and room for the baby crib etc.  It is all things like this that make it a lot easier when the baby arrives... being organised is key!

 

 

 

 Above: IKEA Malm chest of drawers and the Tommee Tippee Nappy Bin

Above: IKEA Kallax units with Drona Boxes

Clothes and accessories

We have been very lucky already receiving some lovely clothes and accessories from family and friends.  It is a great start to have in all the essentials from vests, sleep suits, hats, bib etc... We have also purchased some lovely baby outfits and themed items. Francis travelled to America and got some cool baby purchases, pieces that were really different.  Clothing wise I would say we are definitely set for babies arrival.


                        


               
               

             

          

           

                                     Above: Just some of the lovely baby clothes we have


Feeding

We have went with the Tommie Tippee sterilisation starter kit that comes with the steriliser, bottles, bottle warmer, cleaning brush etc.  We also got the Tommie Tippee Milk Prep machine, as I know already that im not allowed to breastfeed because of the medication I am on so we decided to get this prep machine that will help in the preparation on bottles. It gets amazing reviews! A friend also got us the Tommie Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer, which will be so handy when out and about with baby.  The flask keeps the water warm enough to warm two bottles and its compact and handy when on the go.  I think I will also get some Dr. Browns bottles in just to have a mixture to see what baby likes and so far formula wise after a lot of research I think we are going to try Aptamil first infant milk breastmilk substitute.

               

                     Above: Tommee Tippee Milk prep machine and the Tommee Tippee Steriliser

Bedtime

We have been lucky to get the Joss baby crib over from Belfast. Its beautiful and will go upstairs beside us.  We got some lovely crib bedding, lots of sheets etc to make it cosy and pretty. For downstairs we decided to get the Chicco Lulla go Crib.  I was looking at the next to me crib but I don't need that function of taking the side down and when I found the Lulla go crib it was perfect! It is exactly the same shape and size.  We got it in Grey, nice and simple to go downstairs.  The amazing thing about this crib is that it folds down into a bag as a travel crib so it will be fantastic for going home with baby.  The crib is for 0-6 months.

Above: Joss Family Crib

 

 

Above: Chicco Lulla go Crib

 

 

I hope this has given you a more in depth look at some of the baby prepping we have done. Thank you to our family and friends for your help and gifts. It means a lot! It is still a work in progress with a few more décor bits to do and some items to set up but should be sorted by the end of this week as I only have 26 days to go!! Hope you enjoyed this post!

Lots of Love

Purple Poodle xx

 

Pregnancy - First and second trimester



A little miracle happened at the end of May 2016... we found out we were PREGNANT! Francis and I are totally over the moon! The whole road to pregnancy was a journey and a half but we finally got that fabulous news that at last we were going to be parents. 

 I have been very blessed with amazing consultants that have helped bring me to this stage in my life and I feel very lucky. The First trimester was probably the longest 12 weeks of our lives but then we got to have our first scan and see that our baby was developing well, so active and even waved to us. It was a magical day! Baby is due Feb 6th 2017.

The first trimester wasn't too bad.. I thankfully didn't have morning sickness but I was very nauseous at times.  My body was going though lots of hormonal changes which affected my skin.  I did get pregnancy acne for awhile and dry skin.  In other blogs I will talk about products that helped me during this time!

 

Above: Baby Joss - 12 week scan

 

The second trimester was pretty amazing.  Its unreal going from feeling little flutters in the first trimester , and that changing to taps and then kicks in the second trimester.  I have had some brilliant midwifes , GP and consultant appointments and the 20 week scan was such an amazing experience.

Getting bigger

Yes all that body changing stuff is defiantly happening.   Bump is all to the front and so cute! There have been difficult times don't get me wrong when going though stages of stretching and making room for baby , I call those preggo days lol. It will usually be a day or two at a time and then settle.. All normal and just something you get used too.  Thankfully my own movement with my AS is really good and my back hasn't been too bad so I have been really lucky.

 

 

Baby Movement

wow the movement really does get magical at this time.  From taps, kicks, rolls to belly moving stuff its crazy how active baby gets. You notice a pattern of movement and babies sleeping pattern. Its a lovely thing to enjoy and get you excited at the fact that baby is getting bigger and stronger.  It is also lovely for your partner to feel the baby move it really is some lovely moments to enjoy together and with family and friends.

20 week scan

 

I remember sitting outside in the waiting room and Francis and I just looking at each other with the exact same thoughts. That cross between pure excitement and being a bit anxious as this was a huge deal. With this scan they were really looking at everything to see that baby is developing correctly and although everything had been going great you cant help but worry.  We were very lucky as we had two sonographers, one being in training so our scan lasted a little longer so we really got to spend time with baby and it was amazing.  It is a longer scan anyway with all the checks they have to do.. Thankfully baby was great! Everything normal and we felt very relieved and blessed.  Of course baby was so active so that also added to the struggle of them checking everything but it was a joy to see on screen.  We also had the exciting moment of finding out the sex of the baby! All we truly wanted was a healthy baby .. at first I really thought I was having a boy then everyone convinced me it was a girl.. id even been looking at girl things saying to myself if I find out its a girl I will be going and buying this! Then low and behold we found out ... It was a BOY! Honestly was in shock! I have to say it really is an overwhelming feeling to find out what your having. In the long run we have been so happy we found out as a lot of the unisex clothing was either girlie or boyish, so at least we could shop for boy items. This was also very handy as some items we wanted only came in pink or blue! so Blue it is!

 

Above: One very active Baby Joss! 20 week scan

 

Baby prep

Baby prep has been fully underway. Not only the start of buying in all the products you will need for baby but doing house prep also.  It is the perfect time to look at the house and realise that maybe you need to do a clear out or change some rooms around to make the house work for you a lot better.  It most defiantly is a work in progress and takes time. That's why its good to start in the second trimester so your not leaving everything to the last minute and it doesn't get too much for you. I have to say baby prepping has been so much fun. A real joint effort that is exciting and fun. I will have a more detailed blog post into the baby prepping we have completed.

 

Above: Jane Epic Travel system

     

 

 

Above: Ordering baby goods.. I heart Amazon lol

 

Above: Ikea shopping trip for some baby storage.

 

 

 

Above: Baby clothing storage and changing top

 

 

                                  

 

 

                                             

 

Above: Lovely baby gifts - the Lamaze Freddie the firefly gym and Ewan the dream sheep

 

 

                                      

                                                                                

 

Above: Just some of clothes that we have bought and have been gifted! One spoilt baby

 

 

 

         

 

Above: Bedroom prep.. work in progress but really pleased so far. We completely moved the room around to create a space for baby. We got ourselves new bedding and curtains to make the room more neutral. For more storage we purchased more Kallax units from Ikea.

 

 

Midwife appointments/GP jabs

 



Midwife appointments are so important. Its great to have a chat on how things are going and the perfect time to ask questions even if you feel they are silly.. get peace of mind! Midwifes are doing a vital job checking on your blood pressure and baby checks - heartbeat and bump measurement.  I have been very lucky to have a couple of midwifes looking after me and baby.  They have all been so helpful and a great resource.



Consultant appointment

 

I have also had a antenatal consultant looking after baby and I due to my heath conditions.  They wanted to keep a check on progress and as I have to come off my Humira injections in the third trimester it was imperative to keep an eye and see how I would cope with the pregnancy.  I have felt very lucky to have a great team supporting me thought out pregnancy and thankfully I have been coping really well. 

 

 

Maternity wear

 

As the months go on the one thing you want is comfort! I wore a lot of maxi dresses in my first trimester with it being the summer so it was very comfortable. In my second trimester I really relied on ASOS. I found it easy to get affordable maternity wear that was modern and on trend.  I got some lovely maternity Jeans and tops.  When the weather turned I was also able to get a lovely maternity coat.  I did get some items in Mothercare like leggings and underwear but the majority of my clothes shopping was from ASOS and I would really recommend it!

            

 

Above: Navy high neck top and grey Jeans - ASOS , Striped Maxi - ASOS, Green top and blue skinny jeans- ASOS

 

 

                  

                                   Above: Green maxi and Floral Maxi - Primark

 

                       


                           Above: ASOS maternity coat and Printed black tee - Amazon

 

 

 

                   

 

 

Above: Striped tunic top - ASOS, grey leggings - Mothercare , Red Christmas Jumper and black leggings - Mothercare

 

 

So I hope this has given you an insight to my pregnancy so far! It sure has been busy but really exciting. Im working on some blogs about products that have helped me during pregnancy and an update on the third trimester and how things are going.

 

Lots of love

 

Purple Poodle and Bump xx