28 Weeks- Pregnancy Update

I did it, I’ve made it to the third trimester with only some moaning. Okay- that’s a lie, I’ve moaned an awful lot. Of course I’m grateful to be having a healthy baby and after two miscarriages I know how special each successful pregnancy is... but it’s bloody exhausting.

The great thing about hitting the third trimester is, despite there being anywhere between 9-12 weeks till I should give birth, I feel like the end is in sight. It’s the home stretch, and of course I’ll be getting much fatter and much more sore but there isn’t another stage after this where it’ll happen again!

I have been getting sore. I don’t know if it’s just inevitable after having SPD so severe I was induced (read about that here) last time. I’ve been trying to take it easy but the wincing pain is creeping back every time I roll over or walk further than normal- if I do push myself I find I’m useless for a day or so after. Epsom salt baths and general rest are helping, I just hope I can carry on staving it off till I’m full term and avoid induction. 

Other than that, I do feel really well in myself. I’ve started having a lot of dreams about when he’s here and what he may look like- and a whole lot of crazy dreams with enough drama and details as a blockbuster movie! 

My cravings are also moving on from vinegar and sweeties- I’ve been obsessed with green grapes! The only issue is, some strains of green grapes taste sort of leafy and grassy and I want the specific strain with that crunch and tart/sour taste. I’ve bought the “wrong” grapes home from Tesco twice and promptly left them in the fridge to be neglected or eaten by someone else. Nothing has felt more disappointing in my life. 

We’re going for a 4D scan this week and I am so excited to see baby boy again. He’s gaining baby fat and should look nice and squashy and like a real baby! I think it will be a lovely experience as we get to bring Isla and Archer to see him!

He does have a name by the way, we just aren’t sharing it with the whole world till he’s here. I shared Archer’s name with a lot of people before he was born, and even though it was definite, people took it as an invitation to offer alternatives. 

Overall, nothing has really changed this week. Baby is as big as a coconut apparently and I don’t want to think about pushing a coconut out of my foof right now so I’m avoiding the fruit comparisons from now on!

The Ultimate Softplay Survival Guide

On a rainy day, with an empty schedule, you may find yourself wondering- should we take the little ones to the soft play? Even the name is suggestive of a warm, padded area in which a parent can set their little mite free to burn off energy in a lovely safe environment perfectly suited to them, while they enjoy a coffee and some peace.

It’s all a bloody lie. 

The truth about softplay is that it is a sticky, noisy battlefield that the inexperienced parent will leave in a hurry with the changing bag and child being dragged unceremoniously to the car, undoubtedly covered in someone else’s snot and tears. 

Want to survive? Keep reading. 

1. SOCKS

Socks are required for hygiene. Never assume this is an unnecessary rule, I guarantee the day you forget socks is the day someone steps in something disgusting underneath the ballpit balls. 

Of course, if you’re heading into softplay without prior planning, I can guarantee the only pair (or “close enough” pair) you can find will have a hole in, perfectly placed for a toe to pop out. Embrace it. Don’t let the tutty mums judge you and attempt to hide your feet under an infant- act like you MEANT to give that toe some air. Own it, and you’ll feel like you can do anything. 

2. THE BABY SECTION

If you’re interested in sitting around and watching your baby “try” to play by rolling near something vaguely resembling a padded slide, head to the baby section. Usually reserved for under 4’s, you can rest assured that they’re out of harms way for a while and finally have that hot cup of tea you’ve wanted for months. 

Until the “I don’t care” mums who are far too distracted by their phones and having a chat arrive along with a rambunctious and rather large child. Of course, no matter how close to adulthood that child is, they’re going to be clambering all over the baby section. If you glare and mumble loud enough, the child is usually embarrassed enough to leave and go to the (apparently) less appealing section for children their age. 

3. LIE

Of course, the best thing to do is lie. Don’t want to go? The soft play is closed. 

Don’t want to buy a snack or drink and you’ve been caught sneaking in 10p cartons of juice too many times to risk it again? The cafe section is closed. 

Don’t want to pay full child price for your newly turned one year old who hasn’t magically gained the ability to play like a big kid? Lie about their age for as long as possible!

As much as softplay does suck, and as hard as it is to survive at times, my children love it. They’ve just got to the magical stage where they bugger off and play alone for at least 15 minutes at a time and I trust they’re okay on quiet days. 

Even after the worst experience, something about being a parent makes you forget and you’ll be back- and now you’ll be ready.

The Second Trimester was NOT easier

Today, I come to the end of the second trimester. Tomorrow I am in the third! The final stage, the one where I’ll be allowed to moan again because as everyone knows, the second trimester is a “breeze”. It’s the easy middle part where you are glowing and full of a strange magical energy and you can achieve anything!

That’s what all the books say, and it’s a lie. 

Sure my first trimester wasn’t hard- I wasn’t sick at all this time and I wasn’t actually that tired a lot of the time... so maybe the second didn’t seem magically better because I didn’t have anything bad to improve from? There were some little improvements- I didn’t want to remove my boobs because they hurt so much and the cramps and ligament pains stopped. But mostly, it’s been worse, and here’s why. 

1. Sleep

What sleep? I’ve been absolutely exhausted the entire second trimester and I fully call it on the rumour that you get your energy back. I have not had my energy back and I’ve got so big this trimester I’ve been far too uncomfortable to sleep through the night. Add in how often I get up to pee...

2. Peeing

The urge to go to the toilet every hour or more was supposed to lessen during the second trimester, as baby moves up in your body and takes the pressure off your pelvis and bladder. Well... tell that to my uncontrollable need to go two times every night for the last 10 weeks nearly!

3. Glowing

While a pregnancy is barely there in the first trimester, and by the third you are large and swollen and exhausted, the second trimester is meant to be a time of glowing and clear skin for most. Not me. The only glowing I have is the heat coming off my skin because I’ve been non stop sweating and too hot for the last few months! I feel like a radiator. If this is my peak I dread to think what state I’ll be in over the next two months. 

4. Sex drive 

Hello? Sex drive? You were supposed to reappear and I think my husband has been expecting you any time now? Honestly it is the last thing I want or can comfortably manage by the time I collapse grunting into bed and spend ten minutes huffing and trying to arrange the pillow fort that has become the only thing I cuddle at night. Sorry Jack, this one was a big fat lie and I probably smell anyway even though I showered ten minutes ago - all that sweating. 

Honestly, it hasn’t been all bad but it definitely wasn’t the massive improvement that I was promised. I can’t imagine how I’ll moan for my third trimester. 

Looking at my post history it may seem like I’m complaining about being pregnant a lot, but it’s not all serious. I’m so grateful and I’m trying to take in every moment and every annoyance and just remember it all. But the second trimester DID suck..!

Top Tips & Tricks for Meeting Characters at Disneyland Paris

When you’ve spent all your money booking, and spent hours planning for a trip to Disneyland Paris, there’s nothing more disappointing than missing your favourite characters!

When we went, we managed to meet just about everyone that was available as well as some surprise meet and greets, so I’m sharing my top tips for meeting characters at Disneyland Paris. 

1. Check the programme

You will either receive this at your Disney hotel if staying in one, or you can pick it up at the park entrance. It has a list and location for daily regular meet ups- arrive early if you don’t want to queue and plan a route from each meet to the next. We managed to be first in line a lot of time by keeping an eye on the times!

2. Green/Cream Umbrellas

Dotted around the park, you’ll notice large green or cream parasols/umbrellas. They seem insignificant but these are where either surprise or organised meet and greets take place! Take note of them and if you see a character on a “walk” towards or near one, head over just in case! You’ll likely catch an unscheduled surprise photo opportunity! We managed to catch some princesses by heading towards them, as you can see below.

3. Extra Magic Hours

If you’re staying in one of the Disney hotels that offer extra magic, when you enter the park you can queue to meet Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and others on Main Street before their advertised slot, saving hours. They often come out early for the extra magic guests! It’s also worth checking who is at the princess pavilion every morning to either wait and save on queue time, or skip and come back later if you have already met that princess. 

4. Lineberty App

We didn’t realise the first time we wanted to meet Buzz in his advertised slot, but you need to book a place via this free app! There are other characters on it too. The places go fast so we missed out but we stood and waited anyway and because not all the booked people showed up and buzz had some time left, they fit us in at the end anyway. If you’re nearby it’s always worth a shot.

5. Closed the meet line?

Sometimes you’re late to a popular meet, or the line fills up too fast. If it isn’t too crowded, and you hover at the end, the character will still say a quick hello to your little ones waiting as they pass. It isn’t as good or long as a proper meet but if they get a high five and you’re quick with the camera it’s still worth it. Just remember to let the character leave for their break and not hassle them too much! 

6. Pick a clever lunch spot 

We realised from eating our lunch at Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost in adventure land, that the tables on the left of the outside area are next to the bridge the characters walk along when taking a quick break. In just one hour of sitting eating our lunch (and it was very tasty and reasonably priced!) we managed to say hi to and meet every character working that park section! Some multiple times per meal, so they began to remember us and say hi if they saw us out and about.

Aladdin & Jasmine were regular passer-by's at this restaurant spot!

The bridge where characters passed us by as we ate!

7. Get a good parade spot

We were exceptionally lucky that our children didn’t mind waiting up to an hour to guarantee a front row place for the parade every day. We were also very lucky that because we took the time to attend meet ups, the characters that took place in the parade remembered our children and ran to say hi to them when they had a chance. We did lots of very happy, loud shouting to our favourite characters on our children’s behalf which often drew them in when they picked who to come and see in the parade!

8. Don’t want to queue for Mickey?

Mickey is the most popular and most famous character and he does have a building specifically for his meet and greets, but understandably it gets very busy. If you head towards the phantom manor instead, you can often see him with a 10-15 minute line maximum in a slightly different outfit under the gazebo! It isn’t in the programme so it’s definitely worth remembering. 

Do you have any more tips for meeting characters? Let me know and I can add them with credit! I hope you have the best holiday!

Baby Born Surprise [Review]

Surprise packs, eggs and blind bags are all the rage with children at the moment. Isla is especially keen on any type of toy you buy with absolutely no idea what is inside- it’s a bit like a present you have to unwrap and she loves the concept of collecting.

Baby Born Surprise is exactly the type of surprise toy she loves- there are twelve to collect, and ten individual surprises to discover when you open and interact with the doll!

When you first open the plastic casing, the baby surprise is wrapped inside a beautiful pink branded blanket, keeping the contents hidden. Once this is open, you discover your first surprise- which collectible swaddle is your baby wrapped in? Each swaddle is assigned a birth month, so you can find out your baby’s birthday with this and your children’s favourite numbers. They can also find out their baby’s star sign with this information!

Isla now has the butterfly and duck- for some reason she thought the duck was hilarious. I must admit, they look adorable sleeping in these little swaddles. The fabric is exceptionally soft and really well put together as well- the attention to detail for such a small product really makes it feel worth it.

The next surprise is baby’s hair- as I said before, there are 12 dolls to collect and each one has its own hair style. Isla loved this doll as she had the cutest pink hair band and brown hair.

The most exciting part for Isla was the eye surprise. Each baby arrives “sleeping” and with a little water and some gentle wiping, your child wakes the baby up to discover their eye colour.

Combining the eye and hair colour will reveal the first letter of your baby’s name- Isla had “F” for this doll!
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Next up, we found out our little baby was a bouncing girl by opening the surprise containing either a pink or blue bottle. We filled it with a little water and Isla gave her her first feed, ready to discover the next surprise in her nappy (the concept of which, Isla found absolutely hilarious- what child doesn’t find pee and poo hilarious at times?).

The inside of the nappy will fill with water and a pattern will be revealed- each pattern lets you know what your baby’s favourite food is. 

We did find it a little bit difficult to get the baby to do the "wee" but I figured that an extra bottle of water was enough to get it working- just the one didn't do the trick fast enough for Isla!

It was actually really exciting to join in and help Isla with this surprise toy- it took a lot longer than the usual ones she comes home with and we did a lot of talking and chatting about what each of the things she discovered meant for her baby. Having so many different characteristics also fascinated her, and she’s been telling Daddy and Archer all about her new babies and what they’re like!

I’d really recommend these little dolls for a stocking filler or a small birthday present- they’re the perfect size and definitely something I believe she’s going to play with consistently even though the surprise aspect is over. Being an egg shape, they could even be used as an alternative to chocolate at Easter! It’s nice to know she hasn’t just unwrapped a surprise containing more plastic that she will look at once just for the sake of opening something- a baby is a wonderful interactive imaginative toy. 

I was gifted two Baby Born Surprise dolls in exchange for this honest review. All words and opinions are my own. All photos are my own. 

I Had Gender Disappointment.

Let me preface this post by saying, I am more grateful than I could ever put into words that our baby is healthy, growing and developing exactly as he should be. In essence, the gender is not what is important and it isn’t a case of me preferring one sex over the other because in the grand scheme of things it’s such a small thing.....

But yes, for the smallest time, I was sad about the result of our gender scan. 

I already have one son and one daughter, so when I fell pregnant for the third time people were intrigued to know my preference. It was the first thing anyone asked me and it began swirling around in my head- what would I prefer? When I was pregnant with my second, people would say “you already have a girl, I hope you have a boy!” so that became the focus and hope- but with one of each already people want to discuss how the family dynamic would change with the “tie breaker”. 

It wouldn’t have occurred to me to have a preference. Both my son and daughter are so different and wonderful and it has nothing to do with their sex, just their personalities. But as I said, with people seemingly only interested in what I would prefer, I did begin imagining either a son or daughter and names and bedroom sharing ideas... I decided I’d quite like another girl. 

I didn’t believe this baby was a girl even once. I’ve been right twice before, and I had a strong lean towards this baby definitely being a boy. If you’ve been following me, you’ll know I was bang on the money and we’re super excited to be having a second boy!

As I discussed in my post “Am I excited for baby number three?” we’ve kept everything from newborn up from Archer, so my bank account is extremely pleased it won’t need to pay for a single wardrobe item besides a few token/seasonal items. Score right?

I was disappointed. I felt horrifically guilty for being disappointed. The sad thing was, I wasn’t even upset about the gender of my child itself, I was upset about all the materialistic elements which made me feel even worse! I wouldn’t get to buy a new wardrobe. I liked a million girls names, and not one boy name. I like silly gender stereotypical items like hair bows and frilly knickers. I liked having a sister more than a brother growing up and thought Isla would too. 

Notice how all my reasoning was not related to the child itself? That’s how I’ve got through this. It was purely my own imagination and fantasy of what life may be like when baby came. Yes I imagined a girl and it was a little painful to suddenly lose this but after a little shake and a few days to “mourn” I managed to pick myself up and I’m thrilled. 

I think mums are often ashamed to admit they have had gender disappointment. We’re made to believe we should always say “baby is healthy, the gender does not matter” and no it doesn’t matter but that doesn’t mean our overly hormonal and emotional selves can’t be sad for a little while if it is different to what we fantasised about. 

Don’t be ashamed if you’ve felt the same, and don’t feel as though it makes you a horrible person. I felt that for a while, I felt guilty. Why should I though? Of course I love my son already and I will love him more when he is here. Now I know his name, and I’m getting things ready for him, I couldn’t imagine him being anything other than who he is and I wouldn’t change him for the world.