Baby apps

Of course there are - it's a whole new world... not only am I now hearing about baby monitoring apps I've even been told there's a breast feeding app which will remind you which boob you're on! Blimey..

Before we even get to that stage, there's the pregnancy apps, which week by week tell you of course what you will be feeling, how the baby is developing, but more amusingly what piece of fruit you little bundle of joy is currently representing..It's like a weekly advent calendar. One of my favourite instances was at our 20 week scan when we asked the midwife if she was going to measure our baby and was told that they don't measure the length at that point, but if we imagined a double mars bar at the petrol station, the baby was that side.

To my health and fitness coach of a husband, you can imagine this was outrageous! The idea that an NHS nurse should endorse such a lump of sugar so we rather pretentiously said how our app compared the baby to a mango and we'd stick to that comparison!

2nd hand furniture

With 5 week until the arrival of our first baby, hubby and I have managed to paint the nursery.. We've got a collection of  pictures to go up, along with the wall stickers.. the new cot is on order but the rest of it is in the garage waiting to be moved in.

We have done so well acquiring 2nd hand furniture from our  friends, with a Kidsmill baby changer and shelf £30 - see paint job and new handles below

Nursery chair - £10 from the tip in St Albans, don't judge, just look at it.. they have a 2nd hand furniture section.. and we couldn't believe out luck it still has the labels on the cushions.. 

With the pair of us working for ourselves the amount of available cash to 'deck out' the room for the baby has been limited and rather than being overwhelmed by it, we've been practical.. 

Family members and friends are all hanging tight until Baby S arrives to buy us items on our list - there seems to be a strong belief amongst our lot to wait until our bundle has arrived which suits us fine. Everyone tells us you bring your bubba home and then whilst it sleeps soundly the pair of you look at each other wondering what to do.. so opening presents sounds a perfect distraction.. 

Thank god for Ginger!

First trimester of pregnancy = morning sickness. What this actually means is all day sickness, whether it's feeling nauseous or actually being sick, I think the honest thing to say is that it doesn't just happen in the morning. I was lucky, I was never actually sick but I felt it pretty much for the whole 12 weeks. My BIGGEST recommendation, if you like it, is ginger. It was my life saver..

I love tea, and am a fan of herbal varieties so it wasn't a shock to have to ditch the caffeine, although I've become partial to decaf tea now (better than i thought). Anyway, my first port of call for the mornings was Pukka ginger tea and for an evening couple, this awesome tasting ginger cordial from Belvoir has been the best I've found. Ginger beers and ales can get sickly whereas this with some sparkling water is delicious. 

                                                 

Essential to keep in your handbag are these two bad boys... Vitabiotics ginger I found in Boots and literally saved me. I host a breakfast radio show and there would be times where I was about to speak and a wave of nausea would come over. Literally I'd pop one of these in my mouth and it passed. Also for a snack, I'd have ginger oat cakes in my bag and during week 12 went sailing for a week.. yep I know what you're thinking.. both of these two beloved items came with me and were equally as beneficial whilst sailing around the Dalmatian coast. 

We're having a baby!

It took us a while to get pregnant and it wasn't a simple journey.  If you've had difficulties trying to conceive you will know all to well how isolating it can be for the pair of you, when all your friends around you are falling pregnant. It feels unfair and unjust. 

I was fiercely protective about sharing our news, not wanting a big announcement on facebook as during the time we were trying to conceive it was heartbreaking when you'd see scan pictures as profile pictures on a regular basis. I do think social media has a lot to answer for when it comes to people not really thinking about how their updates affect others. 

Do consider those around you who might be having problems getting pregnant when you choose to update your facebook page. Surely you can tell the people you want to know in a more old fashioned way? 

When we got to share the news about the arrival about pour little person, we of course had wonderful reactions as well as some confused ones when presenting our first scan picture. 
It took my mother in law a good few seconds to realise what she was looking at. 

12 weeks 

Once you've started to share your news then the reality sets in of what lies ahead.. time off work, money coming in ( as we're both self employed so there's no maternity package from work, just statutory from the government) starting to acquire baby items and changing our second bedroom from an office and shoe store to a nursery. 

One of the brilliant things about being one of the later couples to get pregnant is most of your peers have already spent money on furniture/ clothes / toys and hand me downs are a plenty. Unless you want new -which is completely your choice, although if you're not too precious do use facebook and sites like the NCT to see what bargains you can find. 

If, however,  you've had or are having trouble getting pregnant, maybe you're looking at fertility treatment check out The Fertility Podcast a blog and podcast highlight a wide range of issues and questions surrounding starting a family. With expert interviews and real life stories it's a much needed resource for such a sensitive and still taboo subject.