Breast is Best?

Ok, let me start by saying these are my opinions, that's all they are. I know breastfeeding is a hot button issue and this post may evoke some strong reactions from some but I stand by my own feelings on the matter.

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On a lighter note.. little know fact about me, I have inverted nipples (look it up) I never realised this until I was pregnant with Ella and I saw an advert for Avent Niplette. I thought the pictures looked familiar and after a little google research discovered that I had this problem and how it would affect my chances at breastfeeding successfully. I don't really know if I ever had my heart set on breastfeeding but I know I was never against it. I've never been one to recoil at a woman breastfeeding in public, I suppose I'd never really had any strong feelings either way until I discovered I might not be able to do it. So I invested in the niplette. I can't decide if it would be better used as a bondage accessory or a torture device. Needless to say it didn't really work for me. I wrote it off as a bad job and didn't give it another thought until I was in the hospital with my newborn baby. You are asked if you intend to breastfeed. They didn't seem too pushy about it, I explained my situation and I think because I didn't give them a flat no that's where my issues with them began. They pushed me on several occasions to try to breastfeed. Now bear in mind how long you spend alone in hospital, outside visiting hours.. the only times they wanted me to try I had visitors. I'm not talking close family, I'm talking MOTHER-IN-LAW! They had no sensetivity about the issue at all and the way they dealt with me totally put me off ever trying again. I have absolutely no problem with breastfeeding or those who want to do it and can but some people can't! I had as much milk as I could have needed but the long and the short of it is I didn't have the nipples to deliver it! My Mum had the opposite problem, no milk, but again.. they pushed! Why must it be like that? It seems to work in cycles, for a time it's all pro-choice and whatever Mum wants is fine and then they go back to the old adage "breast is best". Well what about those of us that can't give our babies breastmilk? Are we failing to provide for them? I don't think so and I don't think we should be made to feel that way. Here are a couple of things I don't like about breastfeeding...

• You never know how much your baby has had. Your child could be starving and you wouldn't know until the next weigh in... even then you'd just be guessing. 
• A lot of women really struggle with it and it can be immensley frustrating even when totally rested let aone when sleep depreived at 3am alone with your newborn.
• The rest of the family don't get the bonding experience of feeding the new baby.
• The Mum doesn't get the necassary rest provided by others being able to help with the night-time feeds.
• For those that have cut out things like alcohol and cigarettes for 9 months that deprivation is extended by however long they breastfeed for.
• It is apparently very painful not only to feed but the ache in your breasts when they're full, I've felt that and I can't imagine how much worse it is when feeding.

At the end of the day if you want to do it and you can do it then I hope it's everything you ever dreamed it would be but if it's not or you can't... so what? Don't let anyone make you feel bad for the way you are parenting your child. They are your child after all!!!

And that's my two cents

Week 27

What? I'm nearly 7 months pregnant?? How did THAT happen? It's getting a bit scary now. With my furst pregnancy time really dragged but boy is it coming along fast this time. I'm still really enjoying being pregnant but I'm starting to get a little uncomfortable as my skin stretches a bit more than it wants to. I feel absolutely huge but I know I will double in size before it's over.

This week baby Zach (it's decided) is 2lbs. When I think he feels huge in there I realise how tiny he really is with my weekly updates. 2lbs is so small! He's apparently the size of a cauliflower... Which sounds bigger. I keep looking in his nursery and can't quite believe there'll be a baby in it soon.

How Much Caffiene is Too Much Caffiene?

The Food Standard Agency recommends that pregnant women not consume more than 200mg of caffiene per day. But what is 200mg?
Being a self confessed coke addict (sounds worse than it is) the thought of cutting down is very unsettling but at the same time I don't want to do anything that would harm my baby.
On top of my love for the fizzy drink the fatigue pregnant women suffer makes this the wirst time to cut out caffiene completely. Without my daily dose I'm quite sure I'd be asleep at my desk by mid-morning.
So just how dangerous are our everyday beverages?
Here's a caffiene content rundown..

Can of Sprite - 0mg
Can of Cocacola - 32mg
Can of Diet Coke - 42mg (interesting!)
Cup of Tea - 50mg
Energy Drink - 80mg
Mug of Instant Coffee - 100mg
Mug of Filter Coffee - 140mg

Given that I'm not big on the tea and coffee I am pretty pleased to see that I can safely guzzle a couple of cans of coke and maybe even a cheeky bar of chocolate (50mg) with no harm done to my baby boy. Also good to know the odd red bull wont kill me either!
Just goes to show that in the health conscious world we live in where everyone has an opinion and we can't BREATHE without fear of doing it wrong.. sometimes its worth doing your research and making your own informed decision about what's right for you!

Week 26

How freaky is this.. If you shine a light on my stomach right now the baby would put his hands up to shield his eyes!!! It's like a real life baby in there!!! Also oddly it's size this week is likened to a Hothouse Cucumber.. Mmm!

What's a little scary is the rate in which he is growing now. It's taken this long to get to 1.75lbs but from now it adds 0.25lbs every week... Its going to be HUGE in no time! No wonder I feel so heavy lately.

 

24 week bump

I am so late in posting this and I look miserable I know but I am trying to keep up with a bump photo ever 4 weeks for my slideshow in the sidebar so here's what I took last week. I really wasn't as pissed off as it looks this was like the 10th photo I'd taken.. it's tricky to get a good angle from my tripod!

First Baby Kicks

I managed to get some baby kicks on film last week and put this video up on my YouTube channel. I'm assuming as you follow me here you probably follow me there too and so will have seen this already but for those of you that missed it... here it is now...

The kicks weren't massive and only a week later I know if I catch him at the right time I could get some better footage but I'll leave it a few more weeks and do an updated one. Let me know if you could see him! I know it was slight and tricky to tell but hopefully you can make out some movements.

Week 25

Well I'm 25 weeks and let me tell you this baby wants OUT! He is kicking up a storm in there, it feels almost like he's pushed for space already which is crazy given that it feels like so long 'til he comes but I guess it's really not! It's just 10 weeks til our consultant appointment where the birth plan is decided and potentially the c-section is booked. Just 8 weeks til I finish work too which hopefully will fly.

The size this week is a Rutabaga, just 1.5lbs. Once again I had no idea what that was so for those of you like me...

It's basically a turnip.. Mmm.. Very attractive!

I've been getting really excited this week about my hospital stay which is a little bizarre I know, nobody likes to be in hospital but we will have our brand new baby finally and I'm just going to try and have fun planning what to take and such. Last week I bought an iPad so I can hopefully get a little video/blog/tweet while I'm in there. It wont be so bad. Especially if I do have a planned section, I'm really looking forward to having some control over my visit.

Have any if you got any must have suggestions for stuff I should take with me?

autumn fashion loves

autumn maternity by missbudgetbeauty featuring knee boots

Maternity
$70 - topshop.com

Isabella oliver maternity
$215 - isabellaoliver.com

Paige Denim maternity
$202 - piperlime.gap.com

Old navy maternity
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com

Dorothy Perkins cotton maternity
£30 - dorothyperkins.com

Dorothy Perkins linen maternity
£10 - dorothyperkins.com

Old navy maternity
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com

Alexander McQueen platform boots
£420 - brownsfashion.com

Chloé knee boots
$995 - net-a-porter.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors leather handbag
$512 - my-wardrobe.com

ASOS strap watch
$52 - asos.com

Lucky brand earrings
$35 - zappos.com

H M wide brim hat
£9.99 - hm.com

6 Month Bump

I told you I would post some outfit pictures soon so here's the first. The dress is from H&M (A/W 2011) and was £19.99. It was quite a journey to get it. I called around a lot of stores and all the smaller sizes had sold out. Luckily they came back in stock online so this arrived a few days ago... yay!

I thought I'd double up the post as a bump update. It seems to have popped out a bit more in the last fortnight, I'm officially not just fat looking now haha. I keep thinking I can't get much bigger but I still have 3 months to go and this is how big my bump was near the end with Ella... *eek*

Week 24

This week the baby is the size of "corn" and 1.25lb. Now I'm assuming by corn they mean ..."on the cob" otherwise thats one TINY baby. Lee was reading the pregnancy book last night and discovered that a baby born from 24 weeks can survive with intensive care. Scary thought but nice to know. There's actually a girl I work with who thay has happened to this week but I shall blog about that sepetately.

Ella has now felt the baby kick which she was interested in to a point but not as much as I thought she would be. I think it will be cool for her when she can make out surface movements. It's very difficult to get a 5 year old to want to sit even for a minute waiting to feel a kick. It will be my Mum next (hi Mum) and then all the interested parties are covered.

Number one symptom this week would have to be breathlessness. Even eating leaves me out of breath.. Very frustrating!

Longing for my Leaner shape...

With all the new Autumn/Winter collections in the shops I am finding myself longing to be slim again recently. It's not that I don't love my bump, it's more I miss being able to wear my favourite clothes and, more importantly, shopping for new ones. I recently bought a couple of Maternity items which I am loving but I loathe spending money on clothes that I will only wear for the next 3 months or so.

I will do some outfit posts soon of the stuff I have and how I've adapted some of my non-maternity wear to fit my growing shape. Most of the things I have bought I'm hoping I will get some use from in the future even if it's just while I need looser clothing for the months after the birth.

One thing I have really enjoyed working in to my routine now I'm getting bigger is moisturising. I'm so wary of the stretch mark fairy I am not happy if I can't feel moisture on my skin. As soon as one lotion has absorbed I'm applying another. Right now my favourites are Palmers Cocoa Butter, Mamma Mio Boob Tube, Garnier Intensive 7 days body lotion and Asda's on "little angels" stretch mark oil. I use some or all of these every day and so far no marks but trust me the day the first one arrives you will all know about it! I don't remember exactly when they came last time but I think it was around this time. I'm coming up for 6 months. Since I had Ella I've toyed with "toning up" and such but always decided it was best to stay as stretched out as possible until I've had all my babies. I'm keeping everything crossed that my boobs, bum and thighs are still at their wobbliest and I don't gain anymore weight than the last time so maybe.. just MAYBE I might get away without this time. I have none on my tummy so I will cry if I get them this time.

For now I know that I'm doing all I can to keep them at bay and fingers crossed I will be back in my regular clothes in time for some January Sale shopping!!!

A HAIRY Situation!

I swear this was never an issue for me prior to being pregnant and I don't remember it from the first time around but ugh! My belly is HAIRY!

Bare in mind that this photo was taken after a serious plucking session and there were some crazy dark, wirey hairs to get rid of. I've always had some strays under my belly button but nothing like this. Now they're spreading! You can't see too well but they are migrating around my belly button and even further up. I'm nervous to use a hair removal cream because I seem to have developed some kind of tame rash as it is and wax could be even worse for my obviously sensetive skin. I don't want to shave because the stubble/upkeep would be unbearable so it would appear I'm stuck with this unsightly pregnancy side effect for now. Any suggestions?

Week 23

This week the baby is the size of a Large Mango, 1.1lb and 11.5in long.

According to my "BabyBump" iPhone app braxton hicks (practice contractions) could start this week so that's always exciting.. Not! I was given a friends birthing ball so that will come in handy when they do start.

This week I thought I would share an up close shot of the baby's development as it's

Proportions are balancing out and it's starting to resemble a real baby...

And my very own bump photo!

It has really popped out this week! I am due to take my next bump photo in the next few days so I'll be interested to see it on my slideshow. I was taking them monthly but I'm growing so quickly now I think I'm going to start taking them every 2 weeks.

I have a couple of posts coming up on pregnancy skincare and symptoms so watch this space!

Moving Movie

Since the baby has been moving so much I have been trying really hard to get the surface movements on video to upload. Rest assured the moment I have it on tape it will be uploaded and linked back here for all to watch but it's proving tricky. As with any kind of baby movement it's a waiting game. It's the only way I can share a kick with you all but I am determined so watch out... it will be coming very soon!

*Picture courtesy of Google Images