Today I'm 27 weeks into my pregnancy and all of a sudden I feel huge! The bump seems to have had a growth spurt in the last 7 days, and the baby is certainly enjoying the space while he/she is small enough for a good wriggle and kick.
Last week was certainly an interesting one! We continued our work in the nursery which is as complete as it can be at this stage, I still haven't got a mattress for the cot and I want this to be the last thing to go in ... it's not officially done until this bit is complete so if there are any old wives tales about getting the nursery done I think I might have a loophole!
Last week I welcomed the dreaded pregnancy mood swings, one minute completely irrational in ikea when an item wasn't in stock (when the online stock checker was saying 24 items) the next I'm fine again ... although I do have to say that they picked a perfect day to send me a customer satisfaction survey! Maybe I wasn't completely fine ...
Later in the week, while food shopping I also found myself in floods of tears over frozen yoghurt, thankfully amongst the drama I did manage to pick some up (Ben and Jerry's Phish Food YUM!!) which made everything better when I got back home! I can laugh about it now but I have to say the mood swings are strange, it's almost like I should be wearing a 'warning - pregnant and hormonal' disclaimer sign when walking around! I feel like I have no control at times ... if this coninues I may have to apply the SUMO (shut up and move on) method to most situations I find myself in!
I've also been getting leg cramps in the night, these apparently are quite common and can be caused by a lack of potassium, you should see the size of the bunch of bananas that I picked up at the supermarket in a bid to prevent the dreaded cramps.
Aside from the bananas, the healthy eating seems to have taken a back burner as my newly found sweet tooth is strengthening. Fruit does help and I've tried low cal alternatives (I've already mentioned the hot chocolate in a previous post and of course the frozen yoghur above) but my latest obsession is cheesecake ... I'm trying to go through week 27 without giving in to the temptation, I've filled the fridge with strawberries and grapes, have some sugar free jelly and have bought some chocolate orange options as a last resort. I am strong, I can do it!
I'm also going to make more of an effort to get some exercise into my daily routine, today I went for a walk at lunch which was really nice to get out of the office, have some fresh air and see some greenery. Tomorrow I plan to do the same, who knows I may even dust off the wii fit!
13 weeks to my EDD ... blimey!
Cx
I'm letting my softer side through with this one, pretty and feminine is the mood of today's room ... not so suitable for a baby boy! That said, I've not gone completely overboard and twee, letting some really lovely elements speak for themselves. To stop things from getting a little to sugary I would keep the background (walls) neutral, maybe a soft putty or my favourite grey again??
Clockwise from top left - garland pendant vertbaudet £25.00, curtains (dagny) ikea £69.99, birdcage mirror vertbaudet £39.00, lamp (ljusas salbo) ikea £30.99, rug (aborg) ikea £35.99, bedding dwell studio £202 (approx), rocking horse moover £68.00, sleepsuit baby joule £22.00, coat stand vertbaudet £45.00, hanging bird ornament (centre) monsoon £6.00.
Cx
I love fresh and vibrant colours in a nursery, I know I've said it before but when you look at what is available in the UK high-street we seem to be falling into a beige for babies trap! I read that they need strong contrasts to help with their visual development ... and this delivers on that front! To keep things from getting a bit overwhelming I would use white as the main colour for the walls, maybe using the beautiful isak wallpaper on just one area.
Clockwise from top left - penguin wallpaper isak £38 (per roll), curtains (gronska prickar) ikea £14.99, lamp (lykta) ikea £9.18, picture (solmyra) ikea £9.99, sleeping bag vertbaudet £17.40, storage boxes vertbaudet £17.00, bedding dwell studio £220 (approx), rattle kidsen £18.99, changing mat £53.74, cot and drawers as before.
Cx
I've based this whole scheme around grey - I think it's a restful colour that works really well in a nursery. However, I do think you need elements of bolder colour to keep the scheme playful, something that can easily be achieved through art and of course lovely toys!
Clockwise from top left - light (torna) ikea £59.99, swallow mobile flensted £11.99, curtains (kajsa) ikea £30.63, picture (solmyra) ikea £10.99, lamp (alang) ikea £35.73, bumper dwell studio £96 (approx), crib skirt dwell studio £34 (approx), rug (ludde) ikea £20.42, cloud changing mat kidsen £29.99, elephant pull along sebra £30.99, laundry basket (grundtal) ikea £51.99, pillow (centre) lucky boy sunday £45.00.
Cx
In the midst of decorating and putting together our perfect nursery, I thought it might be fun to take the bare essentials of the room and see what different design options I could come up with.
The basics of our nursery will be the furniture - we've opted for a double malm dresser from ikea and the bibi cot from Mamas and Papas (both in white). Both are brilliant quality at an excellent price - the drawers come in at £101.11 and the cot is currently on offer at £80. We're going to use the dresser as the changing unit, as we're pretty hard up for storage in the house the drawers can accommodate plenty of essential but unpretty baby items while still leaving plenty of room for all the lovely tiny clothes (we also plan to get the stuva wardrobe from ikea too, small but perfectly formed for little people!).
So here is nursery design #1 - I've called it cool and contemporary. I would start with a pale blueish grey on the walls which ties all the other elements together.
This is a real mix of high-street bargains and luxury baby goodies. Clockwise from top left - curtains (gronska prickar) ikea £14.99, picture (solmyra) ikea £11.99, lamp (fillsta) ikea £20.42, rug (ludde) ikea £20.42, truck shelf dwell studio £75 (approx), bedding (skyline) dwell studio £220 (approx), mobile dwell studio £46 (approx), cot and dresser as above. Just realised I only 'shopped' at two places here ... perfect if you are ordering online!
While I absolutely love this look it is a little masculine - as we're team lemon a no go for us. I do think it would make a little boy very happy though!
Cx
Not meaning to sound cliche ... but time really is flying! 40 weeks sounds like such a long time but I can't actually believe where the time has gone, just 14 weeks left to my EDD.
I really wanted to get the nursery 'sorted' while I was still able to help, so we have taken some time off to get the bulk of it done. We've done really well with the majority of it now completed/assembled ... ahead of schedule! More of that to come later ...
We've had some lovely weather over the past few days, decorating while pregnant in the heat is not a good idea! It's been plenty of iced water and cool showers for me, thankfully I haven't had to leave the house much so I've been living in the hubby's t-shirts and loose trousers.
We went on a little trip to pick up our latest bargain buy today too ... I really wanted to get a baby swing but the ones I liked just seemed too much for something that the baby might not settle in and therefore not get used. The hubby's love of eBay was reignited after our trip to the NCT nearly new sale and he found this little beauty for £20!
It's hardly been used and is in immaculate condition! Hubby gets extra brownie points for that one ...
This week my tummy has been particularly itchy as the skin is stretching over my bump (could also be to do with the heat) as such I've been slathering on my sanctuary body butter to keep it hydrated and smelling delish!
The little one is certainly a wriggler - I've noticed it more on sunny days. Apparently at this stage when it is sunny or you are near a bright light they turn towards it ...
I'm off to go and look at the beautiful nursery now (I just can't stop!) :)
Cx
I've just discovered oohmoon.com, by Katy Moon an illustrator. The site gives you one free illustration a day, every day. After that they are downloadable at a small charge. There are some absolutely beautiful pictures on there. For example, today's free download is hope #5 (shown below with water mark).
Why not keep a look out for something to suit your nursery ... I know I will!
Cx
