40 weeks // Pregnancy Update

Current Mood

Get this baby out of me! It is official... I am sick of being pregnant. It feels like I have been pregnant for years. And when I say years I am in no way exaggerating. I am constantly reminded that I waddle like a penguin and even more so about how big I look and that I am much bigger then my sisters when they were at this stage. I feel like hiding in my room until this baby is ready to show her face and even then I don't think I will want to come out!

Morning Sickness

Feels like my morning sickness is just as horrendous as it was in my first trimester. I'm not throwing up as often but I did back then but I feel like I am tip-toing around certain foods and foods that I have loved to eat through out the duration of this pregnancy I can no longer stand! 

Cravings

My chocolate raisins and strawberry milkshake craving has gone now I think. It's mostly just me eating all sorts of things whilst I can now!

Emotions

As usual, all over the place! I am feeling all sorts of emotions at the moment. I am so nervous about the labour and how things are going to go down after I have had my birthing plan taken away from me but I am also feeling so excited to meet our little one! I'm just looking forward to our first stroll as a family so I am hoping that image alone will get me through the labour. 

Movements

She has started to move less during the day and does all her wiggling about at night now. At the moment I tend to stay up until my OH gets home which is usually between 1 and 3am. As soon as he gets into bed she kicks him constantly for about an hour, after kicking me for about 3!

Dreams

Keeping strange as usual! I had one last night where I was staying at the Waldorf Hotel in New York. For some reason I was booking in for 3 nights and had just come from a car race/marathon. My card got declined and then I was repeating that it couldn't be right because I had just won the lottery... lol.  

Size

I didn't think it was possible to get any bigger but right now I am feeling as though this baby has still got room to grow as she is measuring 4cm too small. 

Pains

Constant! I had a sweep on tuesday when I went for my DVT appointment at the hospital. Since then I have lost my plug but my waters still haven't broken! I have been getting contractions on and off ever since with some of them becoming quite painful. However, nothing has come of them and when they start to get quite bad they stop. 

We managed to get the rain cover that we needed for our Orb from Mothercare for £3! It doesn't have the burgundy trim to match ours as it has a black one instead but that doesn't really bother us when we could have easily forked out £20 for a universal one. We also have her lovely pink bedding out on her crib which we have wanted to do for months so we are happy about that!

Anybody else eagerly anticipating their babies arrival?

Jessica x

My love for SugarPaperLA

1. skull envelope  2. gold print  3. the perfect binder  4. gold and white notebook  5. cheers tag

I love, love, love sugar paper! I stumbled across this company during a professional practice branding module at University and I am so fond of everything they create. Anyone who knows me personally will know that I have a weakness when it comes to stationary. I have an abundance of notebooks, most of which I haven't actually written anything in, and I love a good folder to keep my life organised! 

This company has inspired me greatly. I love the consistent black, white and gold theme which is seen all over the online shop, and I can't get enough of the gold prints that they stock. I just wish that there was someone who stocked these wonderful designs close to me. Currently, the nearest one is Selfridges in London which is a bit of a pain, but then it does give one the excuse to travel to the city! 

Out of all of the lovely items listed above, my favourite by far is the 'perfect binder'. This title is a massive understatement for what it is! For someone who runs 2 small businesses, is due in 2 weeks with their first baby, and is engaged to be married this is by far a necessity in my life! This isn't just an ordinary plain white binder either if that's what you believe I am getting excited about! It is designed for you to make completely personal to your needs. It includes 6 white blank divider tabs, 1 pale pink divider with pockets, 10 clear sleeves, 18 gold foil + 8 blank divider labels, and 12 gold foil + 64 blank, avery compatible divider labels. DREAMY. Now here is the MASSIVE problem. Although they have retailers here who stock Sugar Paper, they only stock a few items and none of them stock this binder product! Not one! Also, to have it shipped from the Los Angeles store in America is $148 alone. How annoying! So I somehow need to find my way around this problem! If anybody has any insights then please let me know!

The Sugar Paper Pinterest page is FULL of inspiration from patterns, to typography, to gorgeous shop windows. This you can check out here.

Does anybody know of any companies similar to this lovely one?! 

Jessica x

Loved #4: New Look Coats

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

At this moment in time I am loving the New Look coats just as much as my previous post about the blazers. After searching LFW15 for street style inspiration I found an abundance of these coats being worn in lovely pastel colours. From the photos it appears as though they can be worn with anything, much like the much loved versatile blazers, and these aren't too pricey too. 2,3, and 5 are perfect colours for the spring season whilst the remaining purple and black are ideal for a day to night look. 

Number 1 and 2 are my favourites. What's yours? 

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Birthing Plan

As a result of being on Fragmin my whole birthing plan has pretty much been taken away from me. I now have a list of things I can't have and can't do which is upsetting as I feel as though the whole experience is out of hands and everything that I wanted has been taken away from me. My original plan was to stay at home until the contractions were a certain amount of times apart in 10 minutes and then use the birthing pool and gas and air when I was admitted to the birthing unit.

Instead I have been told that once my waters have broken I am to go straight into the delivery suite and not the birthing unit. I can't have a birthing pool and I can't have an epidural (not that I wanted one anyway but the option would have been nice). I have also been told that if I feel like I am going to go into labour that day then I shouldn't inject myself. I don't know how you are supposed to tell in the morning if you feel like you are going to go into labour that day but hey! 

The doctors were very vague when they were explaining this situation to me and just kept repeating that they were very sorry and that all these things were necessary incase I was to bleed out during labour. Definitely not what I needed to hear.

So providing things go as smoothly as they can during my birth there are a few things that I am determined to keep the same. I want my fiance to cut the cord and I want our baby to go to him first so he has the first skin to skin contact. He's my massive support system and has been my rock during this pregnancy and I want to be able to give something back to him and I feel that this is it.

My due date is on the 17th of march so I have just 2 weeks left to go. I am getting to the stage where I am going insane and want to get this baby out but I am also trying to enjoy having my last free days before our little girl arrives!

Is anybody else at this stage in their pregnancy? If so, how are you doing and what are your birthing plans?

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Week 38 // Fragmin Injections

In my past 3 months of living here I have had 10 admissions to triage at Gloucester Royal. This is mainly due to light spotting, an ambulance ride from Tesco, and blood clots in my left leg. I was aware that this was something that might happen as my sisters had both had problems with this during and after pregnancy but I didn't believe it would happen to me because of how active I was. However, in the last month or so I feel like I have hit a wall. I am exhausted and struggle to walk anywhere which is a bit of a drag considering just over a month ago I would happily walk everywhere and go anywhere. 

So, about 2 weeks ago I felt the burning and cramping sensation in my leg that I was taught to look out for and headed into Triage. They confirmed that I had 3 blood clots in my left leg and have stuck me on 17,500ml Fragmin jabs for what could be up to another 5 and a half months. This means that I have to jab myself in the morning and again in the evening in the stomach to avoid the blood clots travelling around my body, and more importantly, to my lungs so I avoid a PE. 

The initial jab doesn't bother me but the bee sting pain that follows is horrible and my stomach is currently dotted with purple injection sites, huge yellow bruises and hard lumps. Plus, I am pretty sure my little baby knows when I am about to inject myself as she moves like crazy when I attempt to!

If anyone else is on these jabs or knows someone who is then I would sure love to hear from you. I don't know anyone else who is currently using frag, let alone someone who jabs themselves so any advice on this would be really appreciated! 

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Week 38

It's not that hard to believe my last pregnancy update on this blog was at week 25. Since then we have relocated to the other side of the country and moved in with my parents (not to mention it is the 3rd time we have moved in a year) and Rion has started a new job. We moved here for the support of my family, a move I am quite glad I made because of all that has happened these past few months with the baby.

Morning Sickness

Until yesterday it had been weeks since I have been sick. I get the feeling every now and again but nothing tends to come of it and I have no idea what set yesterdays off. I was hoping it was because I had a feeling my waters had been slowly breaking throughout the day and it could be down to hormone imbalance but after a trip to triage, nothing came of it. 

Cravings

My recent craving has definitely been chocolate raisins! I literally will eat a bag a day at the moment and then finish it off with strawberry milkshake... I swear I am crash dieting when this pregnancy is over.

Emotions

As usual my hormones are all over the place. I washed my expensive Jeff Banks white duvet at the beginning of the week which came out of the wash with really strange brown muddy stains all over it. I got upset about that, soaked it and stuck it back in the wash again and then the stains came out. However, I was laying in my freshly cleaned bed the next day and I left my cartridge pen on the bed with no lid. Cue me having a mini breakdown, getting angry at my fiance for no point at all, and then getting in the bath and having a 30 minute sobbing session about how I am going to be a terrible mum. Also I have managed to somehow kill the peace lily that my other half got me for our anniversary. This is a plant that has been alone in our old house in norwich for the past 3 months without any water or sunlight and was fine. I have it for less then a week in my possession and it dies! A plant!

Movements

She literally never stops moving. 

Dreams

As usual - very weird. I dreamt last night that I was in cheltenham trying on wedding dresses that were changing colour. Then the assistant told me that I was too fat to get into anything... bizarre!

Size

I am huge. I am quite lucky that I have only gained a little bit of weight during my pregnancy and the majority of it is in my stomach. She has dropped such a vast amount that I am feeling like I need to pick my stomach up whenever I am walking around now too and it is soooo uncomfortable. 

Pains
I had some random pains a few nights ago. I honestly thought I was going into labour as I couldn't even walk to the bathroom or stand without it hurting. Turns out I had just pulled a ligament in my stomach and it was mixing with quite bad braxton hicks at the same time.

We are fully prepared for our daughter to arrive now except for needing a rain cover for our pram and putting the bedding on the crib. Both of our hospital bags are packed and all of her clothes for the next 3 months are carefully organised in her changing unit. I just want her to be here so that I can cuddle her constantly. Rion seems to be fairly keen on her arriving too so that he can cuddle her and carry her around in the sling constantly! I think I will be lucky to spend any time with my baby for the first 2 weeks if he is constantly going to be home!

Anybody else 38 weeks pregnant?  

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // MOTHERCARE EVENT

Last thursday me and Rion got the chance to go to a Mothercare event at our local store. It wasn't quite what we were expecting but it was somewhat useful. The store itself was shut to the general public and opened for the event at 7pm. There were quite a few people already in the store by this point so we signed in, received our goodie bag, and had a look around. The evening involved talks about breastfeeding, bra fitting, prams and car seats, early childcare toys, and what we thought was going to be first aid. This was the main reason for why I wanted to go. I have been searching high and low for a first aid course for babies since I got pregnant as I wanted to be fully prepared and I was convinced I had read on the email that one was going to be held at the event. However, we quickly learnt that the only first aid related aspect at the event would come in the form of a £10 off voucher. Useful if you live in a major city where they hold these courses but I don't. 

My expectations of the event were that there would be seats available for guests, especially the pregnant ones, to be able to sit on and listen to these talks. However, there weren't any seats, the store was boiling hot and water was in short supply. This was rather annoying, particularly when I could see other pregnant women walking around complaining about the heat too. 

One good thing that did come from the event was a chat that we both had with a community midwife. In the 30 minutes we must have been stood there talking to her for she had given us more information then the 2 midwives I have had during this pregnancy. She put a lot of our nerves at ease, and was really to the point. For me, I was after answers for as to why my birthing plan had been taken away from me and replaced. She explained everything to me, and told me that no matter what the midwives said, I was always going to be in complete control and if there was something that I was unhappy with during labour then I needed to say. She said that she would always opt for a holistic approach but because of my current situation she advised that I follow what has been decided for me. She also said that if I am giving birth during the day then she would be on the delivery suite at Gloucester Royal so I am hoping that will be my time!

Overall, we both found the event useful because of the chat we had with her. It was worthwhile but I don't think I will be going again if I have another pregnancy. I would like to be able to pay for my own midwife though as they seem to be more helpful then the NHS ones! 

Did anybody else find this event useful? 

Jessica x

Loved #3: New Look Blazers

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.  

Anybody who knows me will know that I am desperate to get this baby out! I'm full term and due in 2 weeks and looking forward to the day I am able to wear normal clothing again. Don't get me wrong, I am loving living life in my joggers and leggings but I am craving clothing that will make me feel normal again. So this evening I have spent several hours drooling over street styles from LFW15 on Pinterest and browsing my favourite clothing sites for inspiration. This has led me to the blazer. An item of clothing so versatile that it can be worn with almost anything. These are just a few of my favourites with 2 being my main choice! I love a neutral colour and this will go perfect with jeans, a shirt and heeled boots.

If anybody else has a blazer post I would love to see it!

Jessica x