The Pregnancy Rules

There are all of these rules we are asked to follow for the safety of our babies and selves while pregnant. Some are simple and obvious, while others need a little more explaining. In all honesty I've not been perfect throughout my pregnancy so far - which rules did you stick to?

• No smoking - a fairly obvious one in my opinion. People smoking near me at the moment makes me feel so angry. They choose to breathe in those poisons, I don't. Any my unborn baby certainly doesn't. Although maybe I'm biased as a non-smoker.
• No alcohol - again, an obvious one. My partner and I don't drink at all (nope, not even at Christmas..) and so this was easy for me. I know some ladies might have a glass of wine on a special occasion through their pregnancy, but I feel that there is no amount stated as safe for my baby and so I don't want to subject it to any unnecessary risks.
• Soft and blue cheeses - I'm not a big cheese-lover so I don't eat this type of cheese anyway. But they are to be avoided apparently. Soft cheese is ok if it has been cooked, and blue cheese contains too much moisture which makes it an ideal environment for bacteria, such as listeria, to grow in. Listeria is feared through pregnancy as it can cause Listeriosis which is an infection that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in the baby.
• Pate - again, due to the risk of listeria. I miss pate so so much! Especially when it was Christmas! But I have avoided it.
• Raw, or partially-cooked, eggs - this is due to the risk of salmonella food poisoning. This is unlikely to harm baby, but it can cause a lot of sickness and diarrhea. This includes any dishes containing raw egg such as homemade mayonnaise (shop-bought mayo is fine).
• Raw or under-cooked meats - there is a risk of toxoplasmosis, which is an infection that may damage baby. It often has no symptoms, and is very rare. But in my eyes is not worth the risk.
• Caffeine - While it isn't demanded you remove all caffeine from your diet in pregnancy, 200mg is the maximum amount recommended. This is where I've not been 100% good. The first thing I did was cut out coffee (and am yet to have any!), and I only have a cup of tea about 2 or 3 times a week at most. It's the diet coke that gets me. It is on tap at work! I don't drink gallons of it, but equally I don't quite calculate the amount I am drinking each day and so sometimes I might be over that 200mg limit, whereas other days I'll have none. Caffeine can cause a low birth weight in babies which can lead ot heart problems later in life, and excessive amounts could also cause miscarriage. 
• Other foods to avoid or be cautious of: cold cured meats, liver, vitamin supplements, certain types of fish, and all raw shellfish, sushi, foods with soil on them (so vegetables that haven't been thoroughly cleaned) and home-made ice cream (due to raw egg).
• Foods thought by some people to be dangerous but which are actually ok: peanuts, soft ice creams, smoked fish, milk and yoghurts (so long as they are fully pasteurised).

For more information visit the NHS website.

Baby Brain Moments. Pt. 1

Baby brain is absolutely hilarious. It is like some cruel trick sent to us pregnant ladies to make us smile every time we realise what stupid thing we have done this time. Here's my latest list of cuckoo-brained mishaps.

1. I made sandwiches and then put the butter in the cupboard, and then foil in the fridge
2. I've put various items of food in the dishwasher
3. At work I poured an entire bag of coffee beans into where the hot chocolate syrup goes... the whole machine had to be completely emptied and cleaned. And a lot of coffee and hot chocolate was wasted
4. I wore a cardigan inside out for an entire day without realising
5. I peeled the carrots for lunch on Sunday, put the peelings into the pan and chucked all the carrots in the bin

Luckily these things were all harmless! At least they gave me a chuckle!

What is making me happy this week?

So this week that glimpse of sun we had has seemed to have disappeared, leaving us in the West Midlands with torrential downpours and hail. Yuck. The winter coat and layers are back out and the heating is back on - bring back the sunshine! Here are five things that have been making me smile this week.

1) My boyfriend talking/singing to the Squishy. He has taken to chatting to singing radio jingles to the baby trying to feel movement - although the more we try to make baby move, the less it wants to! Monkey! Although I read somewhere that if you sing to the baby before it is born, then singing the same songs when they are struggling to sleep will help relax them so now I'm concerned I'll be singing radio jingles at 2am at some point in the future!

2) Corned beef hash. I haven't made corned beef hash in years and I have been really craving it lately. So I made that with some homemade yorkshire puddings on the side (first time making making yorkshire puds from scratch and they were amazing!).

3) Blankets. When it is cold in the evenings and I've had a long day at work I just cannot beat curling up with my fleecy red blanket in front of the latest episode of Criminal Minds or CSI with a nice cup of tea or some homemade cake (or both!).

4) Being creative in the kitchen. I'm not a good cook. I'm not even remotely close to being one either. But this week I have been enjoying thinking up creative ways to use up the food we have in the house right now without buying too much extra. I made a tasty Sunday roast with all the trimmings using stuff like batter mix that's been in the cupboard for months and frozen broccoli that never gets eaten, and then used the leftovers to make amazing chicken and veg pasties for Monday tea. Even the corned beef hash I made was using up a random tin of corned beef from the cupboard and frozen veg that's lingered in the freezer.

5) Sorting and organising. With our entire upstairs needing a rejig before baby comes (our room desperately needed decorating, little one is moving into big bedroom and freeing up her room for the nursery) it felt good to have one room done. We papered our walls with teal, chocolate and cream stripy wallpaper and had a new carpet fitted too. The room looks so fresh now. I can't wait til it's all done! Plus this has given us a kickstart into getting the clutter sorted (we're selling a box worth of stuff to this company for about £50!).

Squishy Report: 24 Weeks Pregnant

How far gone? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 6lbs so far! I know it's nothing but I feel HUGE!

Maternity clothes: I have been living in £5 Primark maternity jeans (January sale bargain) - they are comfy but not very sturdy. But they do the job. Also have some H+M black trousers (£7 on reduced rack) that are amazing - they look smart but feel like pyjamas.... a green check shirt from Mothercare (£15 in sale) and then black leggings (£4.50 from Mothercare in sale). So not loads but I live in leggings and dresses anyway!

Sleep: They say not to sleep on your back but that's the only time I'm comfortable really, also lying down makes my heartburn worse so I try and prop myself up a bit with pillows.

Movement: Squishy moves loads - especially when I'm relaxed. I'm on my feet all day at work but have been trying to sit down whenever possible as I was getting so worried about the rate of movement when I haven't had chance to.

Food cravings: None really. Well nothing specific. I have been wanting salty and savoury foods much more than normal and sometime will have a bag of crisps of a sausage roll after tea rather than anything sweet - just because that's what I fancy more. I have, as my boyfriend pointed out, been going through an obscene amount of cheese spread lately but I'm not sure if that's anything or nothing.

Gender: No idea. We are waiting to find out until the birth. Although everybody guesses boy, and I have been having these vivid dreams where Squishy is always a boy - but none of that means anything! We are "Team Yellow" - although I can't wait to find out the sex!!

Labour signs: Thankfully none.

Symptoms: Where do I start? I've so far had so many pregnancy symptoms - and while they've made me feel terrible, I also feel so thankful as that's been reassuring - especially earlier on in my pregnancy.

• Heartburn - started around 14 weeks. It was alot worse at first. I've tried Rennie's, Asda's own heartburn tablets and Tesco's own tablets too and would say just pay the extra and stick with the Rennie's. You can have more of the Rennie's if you need them, they taste nice (the Tesco fruit ones were disgusting) and they seem most effective. I like the orange flavoured ones and try to pick them up when they are on offer.
• Congestion - apparently more common than I realised! I have been experiencing cold-like symptoms since around 6-8 weeks which make me sneeze violently (just a tip but try and hold your bump when you sneeze, if I don't then I get a horrid pain. My friend told me this so also this must be fairly universal) and sometimes I also get little nose bleeds. Some days I have no symptoms, some days I have loads. I'm not taking anything for this as it is completely manageable.
• Cramps - I have been getting cramps in my legs every so often. Not every day, and there's no pattern to them but when they come they are horrible! I read to try and point your toes towards your knees and doing that usually helps the cramps stop.
• Back pain - With working on my feet all day I have started getting horrible back pain. I bought some Deep Heat to use but it's recommended you stay away from stuff like that in pregnancy so I left it in the cupboard. Instead I've been using some heat packs I found in the pound shop (3 for £1 isn't bad at all). You attach them to the outside of your clothing where the pain is (best to do in the house as walking round with a big white patch on your back looks a little crazy) and they say the heat lasts up to 8 hours - although I have been using them early evening (around 5 or 6pm) and leaving them on all night and they've still been fairly warm at 7 the next morning. I've also found that trying to sit down at work is helping my back pain too.
• Excess hair growth - I feel like pregnant ladies should be given some kind of pass to just not bother shaving their legs in pregnancy! The hair grows at an insane rate, and as some kind of cruel joke your body also makes it hard to reach your legs by sticking your big bump in the way! 
• Other niggles - I'm still quite tired and sleep at least 9 hours a night. I have been having horrid mood swings and getting myself completely worked up about nothing (I have crying fits if the dishwasher hasn't been filled..). 

Despite all of these symptoms i actually feel much better now than I did in the first trimester (that horrid morning sickness stuck with me up til 16 weeks!) and now that I can feel the movement and see my bump growing I'm enjoying pregnancy much more.

What I'm looking forward to: Starting to decorate the nursery in the next few weeks and buying cute bits and bobs. 

I have been reading about Squishy's progress each week here so go and have a look. I found it so interesting. This week baby is the size of an ear of corn!