My labour story | Baby Series

So I've done two previous posts on my first and second trimesters and obviously the plan was to do another on my third trimester; however as we went into lockdown in my 29th week of pregnancy I spent all of my third trimester in my flat, with my husband not really doing anything at all so that post would be a very short one. So instead I'm just going to go straight into my labour story! It's only taken me 4 months to write! So Teddy was born on Sunday the 31st of May at 04:27am at 39 weeks and 6 days. I had a scan on the Tuesday before as he had measured big in his 32 weeks scan that I needed to check his kidneys were developing properly as they were slightly abnormal at the 20 weeks scan - I should have known my labour wouldn't be straight forward just from how many scans this baby needed! I was advised that an induction was the best course of action and a combination of lockdown boredom, back pain and a massive bump meant I took no convincing at all. I was ready to try the induction that day! But that wasn't possible so I was booked in for Thursday.

Second Trimester | Baby Series

Well as I'm due in 2 weeks time now seems like as good a time as any to write about my experience of the second trimester...not that I'm forgetful or anything and meant to write this weeks ago! The second trimester is the 13th week until the 28th and is generally considered the time when you enjoy pregnancy the most. Obviously that's subjective and I can't say that I felt any better throughout the second trimester than I did in the first. But for me that was largely down to still being sick almost every day and my mental health took a massive hit during this time too.

Pregnancy and COVID-19 | Baby Series

So I guess you've probably heard there's a pandemic going on?? And I'm sure like me you've lost count how many times you've heard the word coronavirus since January and are wondering if it's quite possibly the most spoken word to have ever existed. And also like me you might have had a rather rude awakening to the fact that inside isn't as much fun as I thought it would be! My teenage dream of staying indoors, not interacting with the world, watching crap TV and eating endless amounts of rubbish has been realised and I'm left with somewhat of a bitter taste in my mouth (although with the amount of chocolate I have consumed I'm surprised my tongue knows what bitter tastes like anymore). But it has to be done and I guess it gives me a chance to do all those odd jobs I never managed to find time for before...

Planning a wedding for 5k | Wedding Series

It's no secret that weddings aren't exactly cheap and with the national average last year being around the £31,974 mark it's fair to say that many couples who are engaged often feel deflated when they realise they simply don't have that kind of budget. I certainly did. In the current economic climate it's hard to see how you can afford to save for a traditional wedding without going bankrupt but I managed to have a dream day for under 5k and here's how.

1. Choosing the right dates and venue

You can find a venue that you absolutely love but get a quote for summer months and find it is completely out of your budget but change the dates to off-peak season months (usually October - March with Christmas and New Years being exceptions) and you usually find a massive discount in price. Choosing venues such as pubs, restaurants or smaller hotels can also massively influence price and they're usually perfect for smaller wedding parties.

What I've Been Watching | Jan - Mar 2020

I did the same post this time last year so I guess it's now tradition but knowing that I will be on maternity leave come May I decided that I finally need to watch the things I've added to my watch list over the years and so I made a start. Here are the things I've watched over the last 3 months and what I thought.

Don't Fuck With Cats 10/10

I had this recommended to me SO many times from loads of different people that I decided one boring day off of work that I might as well start it. And I finished it the same day. It's only three hours long but it's so gripping from start to finish that I couldn't help watching one episode after the other. When people explained the basic story to me saying it was about a man who killed cats and a man and filmed it I have to say I was dubious to watch it mostly because I wasn't sure I could watch the cats or man die on screen but luckily they don't show anything too graphic. I was honestly astounded by the people who started investigating into who might be behind the videos. They made literally anything a clue; it was seriously impressive. I won't give too much away but it's incredible.

First Trimester | Baby Series

I honestly never expected to be posting things about my pregnancy on my blog so soon after getting married but I guess with all the baby and wedding posts coming your way this year it will at least look like I have my life together...or maybe not. At the time of writing this I am 20/nearly 21 weeks pregnant so now seems like a good time to look back over my first trimester. For those who don't know the first trimester is from the first to the 13th week of pregnancy. Most people don't know they're experiencing the first trimester at least for the first few weeks. As we were actively trying to get pregnant I was on red alert every time my period date was near so I found out the day I was late, making me about 4 weeks pregnant. So I got to experience most of the first trimester. A blessing and a curse.

My Wedding Dress Experience | Wedding Series

It's fair to say that one of the supposedly most important parts of a wedding is the wedding dress as it's the thing that most brides worry and dream about in equal measure. We'd never really planned on having a big wedding and I could never see us being able to afford anything in the way of a "traditional" wedding and so it's not something I have ever really thought about and so never worried about either.

But when we booked our venue I knew I had to get a beautiful dress to match with the beautiful setting and so the hunt began...or so I thought. I asked Jack's parents and his sister to come with me for my first visit to a bridal shop, not really expecting to find anything and more just to give myself an idea of what sort of dresses I liked as I know I often like the look of dresses on other people that look so weird on me! I'd made a pinterest board before heading to the shop of ideas I liked so I had a bit of an idea as to what to narrow it down to. The only thing that pretty much all of the dresses had in common that I'd picked were that they had lace on; one thing I'd always said I didn't like. It's insane how much you change your mind in such a short period of time.

The shop I visited gave you things to pop over the hangers of the ones you wanted to try on and I think I had about 5 or 6 to use. Having taken 3 people with me, all with varying opinions on what would suit me, we had a hard time narrowing it down and I did let them mostly decide what I tried on, including a tight fitting dress that I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable in. I would say if you plan on taking more than one person with you to the bridal shop then be prepared to say no and not try something on you know for certain you won't like. But at the same time, try to remain open minded! Honestly it is so hard because you know what you want but you might also be pleasantly surprised!

There wasn't really much that surprised me with wedding dress shopping as the experience was definitely what I thought it would be for the most part but there were a couple of things that did resonate with me...

1. White dresses are a lot brighter than you think they are. The shop I visited stocked ivory dresses almost exclusively but the lady showed me an off white dress they had in and that was dazzling enough so I can only imagine how bright true white dresses are! Ivory all the way for this messy queen

2. It takes so long to get in and out of the dresses. Maybe pretty obvious but some of them just had so many buttons etc that I just didn't really click how long it would take!

3. You will feel like a child playing dress up. Not even paying taxes, paying your own bills or realising how expensive cheese is can prepare you for wedding dress shopping. I felt like I was at home in my mums room trying on her wedding dress and pretending it was mine. But that's part of the fun!

I actually managed to find my dress that day in the first shop we visited and I was so pleasantly surprised. I honestly didn't expect to fall in love with any of them the way I did, even though so many people had warned me that they had thought the same with their first shopping trip and the exact same thing had happened to them. I would say go into the experience with an open mind but also with an idea of what you like as there are so many different styles you could spend days deciding what you like. But most importantly have fun and enjoy it!