17 weeks pregnant

How far along? 17 weeks 

Baby is...the size of a large onion

Maternity clothes? I had a mini meltdown at the Metro Centre at the weekend whilst shopping for maternity wear. Whilst 3 or 4 shops stocked it, all of the stuff was just totally gross or really really dull (and expensive). Butterfly print is everywhere...apparently pregnant women like to channel their inner 14 year olds or something?! Anyway, I managed to buy a normal top from H&M that fits well and later in the week did a massive ASOS order and although most of it is going back, there were two decent dresses which I'm keeping. 

Stretch marks?  No, Bio Oil and my Lush massage bar are still getting me through! 

Sleep: Pretty good, I'm napping with Henry 3 or 4 days a week which is definitely helping the extreme tiredness 

Best moment this week: Sending Mr B a text half way through the week saying 'Just realised, for the first time since December, I don't actually feel sick!'

Miss anything?  Not really

Food cravings: Curry and strong flavours are all I fancy.

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Not really, just hunger now. My sickness is finally getting better. I still have sicky hours here and there but generally it's sooo much better than even last week.

Gender: I honestly don't know and I'm beyond excited for the surprise in 23 weeks time. I've got my eye on a gorgeous soft white neutral babygrow from The Whire Company which seems ridiculously expensive for one babygrow but it's so beautiful and you only get one 'first outfit' after all! I may have to treat Simba after pay day. 

Symptoms: Headaches every single day are a massive pain, still super tired 

Mood: Pretty good but super emotional; I'm crying over everything and anything this week! 

Looking forward to: our scan in less than 3 weeks time!!!

Toddler eccentricities

I wanted to write this post whilst you are still in full eccentric toddler mode. I wanted to remember the really little things that made us smile most about when you were small; not the first steps, not the holidays or Christmases, the really little 'easy to forget' things that made you you at 2 and a half...and a few photos too, just to embarrass you when you're older and read this. 

"Patchu, Mama"

Every single night once you're in your cot you say to me "Patchu, Mama" which basically means you want me to pat you. You've obviously heard me asking if you want me to "pat you" and think that the verb is 'to patchu'. I love hearing this every night and I'll be so sad when you eventually realise you actually just want a pat, or even worse, when you don't want patting at all. 

Just napping with mummy and refusing to remove your shades or ditch the guitar

"NO HAPPENED!!" 

This is your version of NO at the moment. No happened. You often say it 20+ times a day and it's hard not to laugh every single time. Conversations go a bit like this....

"Would you like some cereal, Henry?"

"No happened. Toast please."

Or more often like this....

"Henry, can you tidy up your toys?"

"NO HAPPENED!!"

Insisting you must wear your Mexican hat to go out

"More bookses please"

As your language develops I love hearing you testing out little rules you assume apply to all words. At the moment your plurals are just so cute. Every ends in 'ses' as in 'horses' - except the English language doesn't quite work that way. Yesterday you got very cross when I tried to tell you that the word was men and not manses. Books are just always called bookses at the moment and dogs are dogses. Obviously. I love hearing you chattering away, all of these new words are just amazing

How else do people eat their takeaway pizzas?

"Lemon, car and keys please"

Every night when I put you to bed you insist that you have a wooden toy lemon, a red car and a set of plastic keys with you. You absolutely will not sleep without them. Oh, and Chicken the bear of course. 

And there you have it, 4 of my very favourite things of the moment. Quirky individual things that make us all smile and laugh every day, but no doubt, over time, things we'll forget pretty quickly too. We love you so much for being you, our crazy little eccentric Pigwidgeon. 

16 weeks pregnant

How far along? 16 weeks 

Baby is...the size of an avocado

Maternity clothes? I'm having a serious issue with clothes that fit. I'm fine for work, but I definitely need to invest in a couple of tops I can wear on afternoons and weekends. I'm also desperate for a nice casual, floral dress which I can wear now. I have a couple of summer dresses from last time which are fine for the summer months (if a little big) but I really want something I can wear now with tights. I can't find one anywhere though so the search continues. It really bothers me how frumpy, plain and totally boring most maternity wear is. Considering it's aimed at young women in their twenties and thirties, you'd think it would be a bit cooler!

Stretch marks?  No, still slapping on the bio oil. 

Sleep: A lot better. Henry is sleeping better (once he's in with me!) and so am I. Generally I'm up once for a wee but that's a serious improvement 

Best moment this week: Waking up to baby's big brother rubbing my tummy and saying "Hurry up baby. Come out please". He's so excited to be a big brother and have his very own baby.

Miss anything?  Being able to go in the sauna and steam room at the spa! Sounds daft, the spa isn't a regular occurance but we went at the weekend and I would have loved a long stint in the steam room!! Still, peace and quiet and a non-alcoholic smoothie was still such a treat! 

Food cravings: Not massively, I still need to eat very regularly to avoid being sick.

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothing in particular. The sickness continues though. I have good days and bad days, so I suppose that's an improvement if nothing else! 

Gender: I still think baby boy, we always refer to baby as a he in our house. 

Symptoms: Sickness, really awful headaches most days and some serious pelvic pain tonight. When's the 'blooming' stage? Someone remind me?! Oh and still extreme tiredness despite the sleep improving.

Mood: Not bad, we had a lovely weekend with friends and family which cheered me up a lot.

Looking forward to: feeling well, having a massive bump and generally being one of those women I'm totally envious of at the moment! 

15 weeks pregnant

How far along? 15 weeks - that goal I've been counting down to because I assumed it would mean I'd finally stop being sick because it's when my sickness stopped last time. No such luck, still sick, still on cyclizine, still hating being pregnant! Hmpf 

Baby is...the size of a navel orange

Total weight gain:  Not a clue, I wake up feeling so sick that going to get weighed is the last thing on my mind.

Maternity clothes? Yes! All trousers are now maternity and a lot of my normal tops are getting too short now so I'm wearing a lot of maternity stuff.

Stretch marks?  None

Sleep: a bit better, but I've never ever felt so exhausted in my life. Ever. It feels like I'm treading syrup all day, nothing is easy, if I don't nap I'm just exhausted. Bone wearily tired. It's bloody awful. If my iron hadn't been fine at 8 weeks I'd be convinced that that might be what's wrong. 

Best moment this week? Starting to feel tiny flutters

Miss anything? Energy. And not being/feeling sick. I'm so fed up with it now, it's been over 10 weeks since it started and seems to be showing no signs of improving

Food cravings: Nothing really. 

Anything making you queasy or sick?  

Oh yes. Still plenty making me sick.

Gender: I think boy still, so does daddy. 

Symptoms: Big boobs, sickness, extreme tiredness and some pelvis pain when I've done too much . 

Mood: Just miserable, I've hated this week in all honesty. 

Looking forward to: getting some energy back, feeling like myself again and making a start on Henry's new big boy's room and the baby's nursery. 

A little Buzz Lightyear photobombing this week's bump shot! 

A super exciting milestone

Not the usual milestone, but an exciting and important one in our house at least....Henry has started football class on a Friday afternoon! He's had two weeks now and absolutely loves it. I thought he'd be too young but is perfect for the classes which are aimed at 2-4 year olds. They play lovely games which help them with their agility and have a bit of football skills thrown in there too. It's more about listening and following instructions at this age and I also think it's just really important for them to get used to having lots of exercise throughout the week. He runs and runs for the full 45 minutes and absolutely loves it. Watching him sitting next to the coaches listening to instructions makes me die, I can't believe how grown up he is all of a sudden. The classes are also only £3 which is less than half of some of the other toddler football courses available which I still can't believe people pay for a 2 year old! 

Here is the gorgeous boy in his full kit last week and this week. Next week, England kit, following week, Real Madrid!! I'd like to point out that I absolutely did not buy any of these ridiculously overpriced kits, I prefer to spend my money in Boden rather than Sports Direct! 

My superstar eater

I absolutely adore Henry, so far our terrible twos haven't been terrible whatsoever. He's just so so good and totally gorgeous most days, bar the odd grumpy tired day which we're all entitled to every now and again. He's still such a good eater, he puts away a serious amount of food most days and will try most things too; he's just so easy to feed. Last weekend we went for tapas with his grandad and daddy and I was a bit worried about how tired he'd be and whether it would be too late and too much for him after a long day. I was so wrong. The waitress brought over our first round of tapas, he clocked the olives and clenched his fists, starting shaking them and shouted "so 'cited!". He really appreciates his food and gets so excited about eating now which we think is hilarious. He ate an adult's portion of tapas: countless olives, lamb albondigas, pork fillet, beef stew, pan tomaca, bread and alioli, paella, tuna salad. The list goes on. If we order him a children's meal in a pub or restaurant, he'll often finish it all and he's such good company now. People regularly comment on how good he is at the table and he really is, especially considering he's only two. He and I regularly pop out for coffee and cake during the week together and last night we went to Morrisons to buy
some tea and ended up staying for dinner in their cafe instead. It's so so lovely having a little friend to always keep me company, I'm not so keen on him stealing food from my plate though! 

Tea and cake dates are our favourites 

Eating olives from a cocktail stick is the height of sophistication when you're two!

Tucking into some Spanish beef stew 

A cheapy Morrisons tea date with Mummy 

14 weeks pregnant

How far along? 14 weeks. Hello second trimester, let's hope you're less of a bitch than the first! 

Baby is...the size of a lemon

Total weight gain:  Haven't been weighed this week fortunately/unfortunately...depending on how you look at it! 

Maternity clothes? Loving life with maternity wear hahah. Invested in a pair of Topshop under the bump 'Leigh' jeans which are super soft and such good quality denim. As much as I like my New Look jeans for shape and fit, you can tell that they're not particularly the best quality denim. Tops are an issue, all of the maternity stuff in the shops is SO dull, SO expensive or SO frumpy. I really need a shopping trip to find some decent stretchy camis and t shirts I can wear.

Stretch marks?  None yet, had a panic that I had a huge one but it turned out to be a long crease mark from my jeans haha. I bought a Lush Therapy massage bar which I'm loving using, as well as my Bio Oil. 

Sleep: Getting there. I'm permanently exhausted because of Henry's terrible sleep but have been trying to get to bed really early every night which has helped, as have the weekly sleepovers at Marmar's house! 

Best moment this week? Finally finding some decent jeans that I can wear and be comfortable in.

Miss anything? Not hugely, I miss not feeling sick, it's really really getting me down. I try not to think about it or moan too much because I honestly must sound like a broken record after 9 weeks, but I still feel really poorly most days.

Food cravings: Strawberries and curry. I haven't actually had any good curry, but since we went to Akbars the other week it's all I can think about haha. Those poppadoms....

Anything making you queasy or sick?  

Oh yes. Hunger generally is still the worst and it just makes me feel really sick. Certain smells are also pretty bad for making me feel queasy 

Gender: I think boy still, as much as I'd love a baby girl, I'm starting to think of how gorgeous little boys are and how much I'd love another mummy's boy like their big brother. 

Symptoms: Sore boobs, big boobs, sickness, stuffy nose, extreme tiredness, some pelvis pain still. No real change from last week.

Mood: Not too bad, I'm definitely more excited about having a baby this week. I'm looking forward to that first cuddle in the hospital so so much. It'll make all of this so worth it. 

Looking forward to: That cuddle. I remember it so well with Henry, even if it's a little blurry. Best minute of my entire life. I can't wait to do that again.