Vote for my bump!! Please

I have entered a most beautiful bump competition I would really appreciate if my loyal followers would head over and vote for my entry!

Step 1; Click on this link Most Beautiful bump
Step 2; Search for entry number 2 (its the photo below)
Step 3; Click Vote
Step 4; make sure you confirm the email sent to the email address you provide for your vote to count!

    

Thank you for taking the time out to do that for me!

Please leave a link to your blog so I can return the favor by sharing your button on my blog!

   

Dear Pregnant Self

Your morning sickness wont last forever, I promise! 9 months out of your life isn't to hard to put up with when you think about the outcome!
Your sore boobs may last longer than your morning sickness but look at how huge they are now! You wont ever need that boob job you always talked about now!
You are going to put on weight! It wouldn't be healthy if you didn't! Remember you can lose that after they are born!

Yes, I know you need to pee every 20 minutes! Sometimes you may even pee a little when you laugh, sneeze or cough and as embarrassing as it may be at the time it happens to the best of us!

Things are going to ache! Hips, ligaments, joints and muscles! These aches can be horrible and they may hit you at anytime of day but hey you ARE making a baby!

You will crave random food and you may not like certain foods anymore but that is ok because your body is just trying to tell you what it needs but try to lay off the salt!

You will miss getting kicked in the ribs! Even when it hurts so bad that you think it may have just snapped clean in half!

You are not the only one that needs a crane to help you roll over in the middle of the night so that you can attempt to get up to pee for the 3rd time since going to bed!

That packet of biscuits that you just ate for tea is totally acceptable as a meal and don't listen to people that try to tell you any differently!

Chocolate is now a food group (maybe not a healthy one though)

Running around after a toddler is classed as exercise and a high intensity one at that!

You will cry over stupid things! Kittens, movies, stories and food!

People will make you feel like crap, don't listen to them!

You might get really angry with how stupid people are! It may make you yell at times but let people know you don't mean to take it out on them you just have way to many hormones running through your body at the moment!

You will buy so many clothes for the baby that you probably don't really need, I know you don't mean to but your husband wont see it that way so just smile and say you are sorry every time he complains about it!

People will say when you tell them how far along you are "OMG you are huge!" Just smile and remember that you are getting close to your due date and soon people wont say that anymore and you will more than likely say it to someone else!

Don't take your pregnancy for granted! There are people out there that are desperate for a child but cant for any reason have them!

Labour will be over before you know it! Yes, it is going to hurt but just remember you get to hold your little girl at the end of it all!

Remember to love every moment of this pregnancy because once it is over you will miss it!

  

Week 32

8 more weeks!!

As Bumpette gets bigger my gallbladder attacks have become more frequent, luckily I have found a few ways to keep myself calm and work my way through it.
I hate when I feel an attack coming on because I know there is no way I can stop it and it takes so much energy out of me and I cant do much the next day!

I think that we have chosen a short list of little girls names and I love them both so now we have to decide which one it will be.

Addison or Lucy?!

It has been hard enough to come up with that short list so hopefully it doesn't change!

I have got all my finishing touches for her wardrobe this week and she now has her all her warm winter clothes which is great because it is so damn cold here now!

I am extremely worried about keeping my precious little girl warm this winter as it is easy with a toddler I can just rug him up and he is always toasty but it is always a worry of mine with a newborn about them being too warm or too cold!

My tummy is really growing and I am really going to miss it once this is all over.

This week is really uneventful, I am however going to have more photo's taken for my timeline maternity shoot tomorrow so that will be exciting!

 

When my baby #2 journey started

I remember the days leading up to me finding out so clearly, Thursday I was preparing two horses for a horse show that my mum and I were competing in the next day, Friday we competed all day in the pouring rain and when we got home I got a phone call from my local radio station telling me I had won a competition to "relive my hen's night" and had to rally up 15 girl friends for a night out on a party bus and 5 different pub stops plus free drink (If you cant tell by now, we weren't trying for another child).
Saturday night was a blast but after a few too many cocktails I was ready to go home and fall asleep but before I could do that the girls and I though it was a great idea to grab a kebab, that was the first time I threw up.
Sunday morning I got my first ever hang over and spent the day laying on the couch and running to the bathroom.
My bestfriend came over with the movie "What to Expect When You're Expecting"! She then laughed at me while I bawled my eye's out through the whole movie, I told her she didn't understand because she didn't have a child!

I was still extremely sick on Monday and couldn't drag myself around to chase after my crawling son, I felt awful and had no energy what so ever.
I don't even know what made me think I could be pregnant because I was on the pill and am always on time when I take it but I found the box of home pregnancy tests in the back of the bathroom cabinet, pee'd on the stick and waited!

My head was swimming and once again I was sick!

I was faced with two bright pink lines! Positive!

My first reaction was to burst into tears! I felt terrible, I couldn't believe I had been so irresponsible and went out drinking on the weekend!
I rang my husband and he came straight home to come with me to the doctor to confirm the results, the doctor asked me if I had changed pill types or the brand I had been taking when I thought about it, I had changed brands without even giving it a second though!
He referred me to have a dating scan to see how far along I was but I was sure I was only about 5 weeks along.

For day's I cried on and off,
Not because I didn't want her but because I was just so disappointed with the amount of alcohol I had consumed just days before, what if I had cause damage to her!

I am happy that my daughter is happy and healthy in there and hopefully has no health risks later on .

Guest Blogger - Bethany King!

I would like to introduce my first guest blogger Bethany King From Before, During and After 
Bethany is currently expecting her first child and lives in Washington.
Please head over and follow her amazing journey to motherhood!  

I am the type of person who likes to be in control, always. I make plans, to-do lists, and agendas, and I tend to stick to them. So being pregnant has thrown me a bit off guard.

My husband Cameron and I talked for a while about getting pregnant. We both agreed it was time, and I did some research to find out what I needed to do ahead of time. Turns out I needed to see a lady doctor to get checked out and also see a dentist. [Through that, I learned I had my first cavity. Bummer!] I knew that it was a good idea to rid your body of birth control medication to increase your chances of conception. After some careful planning, we started going for it, and in less than a month, we were pregnant.

My reaction? This was not the plan. The plan was to try for a few months and THEN get pregnant. Already, my plan is getting thrown off track. Was I excited? I was a little excited, but mostly I was unprepared. I had to start reading and planning for the next stages. Turns out, there is a LOT that needs to be done when you're pregnant and before the baby arrives!

Fast forward to today, just a few weeks from delivery. I have done all I can to plan and prepare for his arrival, but I'm no longer in control! And it freaks me out. 

I can't tell when I will go into labor. Heck, the doctor can't tell me that. Only the baby knows when it's time. And that is a scary thought. For the first time, I am not in control of my own circumstances (disclaimer: I know, theoretically, that we are never really in control of anything!); I can only plan for the "if"s.

Here is my plan:

If I'm at work, my friend Susan will drive me home. I'll call Cameron on the way.

If I'm at church or work, we will likely take a cab home OR just walk, depending on how I feel.

If we're home (or once we're home), I will call my mother and let her know that it's begun. I will also send a text to a few of my friends who requested one. And I'll call our doula.

Cameron will blow up the stability ball.

We will make sure our hospital bag is ready, including last minute toiletry items.

And THEN... that's where things get fuzzy. My plan takes me through the first hour, tops. The next stage (6 hours? 10 hours? 20?) is no longer in my control or my plan. And that is a scary thought.

One side of my brain says, "Just plan for anything. Make sure you know what to do in every situation."

The other side, the one I should probably be listening to at this point, says, "It will be alright. No matter what, it won't last forever, and you will be fine." 

I will be fine. I will be great. Then I'll have a baby.

I CAN plan on that.

WANTED; Guest Bloggers

I am searching for some people to feature in guest posts over the next 8 weeks in the lead up to my little bundle of joy.

Ideally I am after "baby" related posts including Trying to Conceive, Maternity Style, Skin Care, Labour and anything out of the ordinary.

Guest Bloggers will have a link to their blog and any photos they wish to share included on their post and I am happy to also share blog buttons if you have one.

Please shoot me through an email at youngmumsguide@live.com.au if you are interested.

I look forward to hearing from you.  

   

Week 31

9 WEEKS TO GO!

Yep that's correct, only 9 weeks until I am due, that means 63 days!

What needs to be done in these 63 day? So much that it makes my head close to exploding!

I want to pack away some of Toby's toys that I can rotate instead of having them all spread out around his bedroom and the family room.
I want to scrub the house from one end to the other and make sure everything is clean for bumpette.
I want to make sure that the bassinet is clean and set up and also the capsule for the car needs to be clean and ready to be put in the car at 36 weeks.
I want to make sure everything is washed and packed away for everyone.
That is just a small list of things that I need to start doing.

I have noticed that my attention span has started to walk out the door this week, I get bored really easy and sometimes can't focus on what people a whining about!
Also, my temper this week has been crazy, so many people are getting on my nerves just for saying stupid or rude things, It might be time to lock myself up and become a hermit until she is born.

As you may have noticed I am still referring to her as "bumpette" or "she"! Yep still no name, we can't agree so we are waiting until something jumps out at us.
I hate waiting to know what we are going to call her as I just want to call her by her name!

I have been procrastinating where my labour bags are concerned! I think it all comes back to my lack of attention, the idea of sitting down and making sure its all packed bores me to tears!

Since I am on maternity leave I have been trying to do a few more things for myself and today my Aunty treated me to a hair treatment at the hair salon and boy it was nice to sit there and relax while I was pampered!
I dyed my hair and I think I may book myself in for a pedicure for next week!