27 Week Update!

This is the last week of my second trimester guys!!! It's getting real now!!

The Ovia Pregnancy App that I have on my phone says that blueberry is now the size of a Camping Lantern (38cm) and weighs about 900g, almost 1kg, so its getting pretty big!
All of his organs are now pretty much fully developed so all the growing now is just in size and in the progression of his brain.

I have had a rough two weeks. Not only has it been Christmas so I've been under more stress than usual (I'm serious, I have had two stress outs where Josh has had to come and calm me down), but the amount of aches and pains I have been having is ridiculous, and I'm not even in the Third trimester yet!!! My back is killing me and the amount of times that I have to pick up Sienna doesn't really help that. But I am just finding it increasingly difficult to get comfortable, whether it be sitting on the lounge or laying in bed. I find myself moving and tossing and turning constantly because finding a comfortable spot is like finding reception on a TV with bunny ear antenna. You find it briefly then it's gone again almost a second later. The past 2 nights in a row I have also been waking up with the most crazy calf muscle leg cramps. I don't know what's causing them, all I know is they hurt :-(

I had a midwife appointment on Wednesday. Everything went smoothly. I have put on 2kg in the past month though :-/ which takes me to almost the weight I was at with Sienna full-term, which is the heaviest I have ever been. Blueberry is measuring 1cm larger than Sienna was at this point, which makes me nervous for the birth. Sienna had a small head in comparison to the baby average, but it felt huge coming out I tell you!! So if this one is bigger than she is.... Im nervous. Ha ha. I was also told that I need to drink more water, which is something that I was told constantly with Sienna. (It feels like no matter how much water I drink it's never enough though). And that my sugar levels were too high (which I am blaming on Christmas time). But I need to bring them back down in time for my glucose blood test which is happening next Friday :-( I am not looking forward to that at all. It's not so much the sickly sweet syrup you have to drink, that I can stand, its all the blood tests. I am not the greatest person in the word when it comes to needles.... they scare me a lot and I tense up a lot when the time comes. But I have to admit that after the first pregnancy, where you are a human pin cushion, I have got a lot better. So I'll let you know how that goes in next weeks blog....

This pregnancy is flying by so fast and as much as I love that and want it to be over, at the same time I don't because this is the last time I get with Sienna and Josh and it just being the three of us. I know that sounds silly because I'm sure that it'll be even better when it's the four of us, but in a way I feel like I have to spend as much time with Sienna as I can now because she'll have to share us soon. I know that we will still get quality time with her (I'll make sure of it).... I don't know... silly pregnancy hormones. Has anyone out there felt like that before having another baby? Or are you feeling like that now? Let me know in the comments below.

I don't feel that my bump is any bigger this week than it was before, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that...

Big Surprise at Christmas!!

I hope that everyone out there had a fantastic Christmas!! We had a lovely day here in our household. Sienna was spoilt by the family and lots of food was eaten and plenty of fun was had. But the biggest surprise of all was that JOSH AND I GOT ENGAGED!!!!

There was a picture I saw on a social media somewhere... and I never really got it until I had Christmas with Sienna this year.

This is totally true. Watching her little face as she looked at Christmas lights (whether it was just on our little tree or on the house down the street totally decked out in lights), watching her open her presents and just smiling when she saw members of our family walk through the door.

Wooden gifts seemed to be the way to go this year. Sienna received lots of them, which I am totally not complaining about as they will probably last longer than plastic ones. She got puzzles, a tea party set and a rocking horse just to name a few. Watching her play with her new toys and showing all the adults around how she drinks from her tea cup was so special.

 

 

 

Christmas as an adult just didn't have the same "magic" as it did as a kid. But seeing Sienna experience it properly for the first time (as she was only about 3 months last year), brought that magic back again. Being around all the people I love, was truly special.

Sienna got spoilt, as all 1 year olds do at Christmas. But I think I was the one who truly got spoilt this year. Having the man of my dreams ask me to marry him. I honestly can't think of anything else better that I could have received from him. He has made me the happiest girl on the face of the planet. Not to mention the luckiest. Sappy, I know. I am so looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him. I just feel bad for him, because now he is stuck with me and all my bad habits ha ha. I am going to do a special blog a bit later on focusing on just the engagement and will be taking you through all my wedding preparations down the track. (The wedding probably won't be for a while as we have a baby coming and all that jazz).

I know its late but I really hope that everyone out there reading this had an amazing Christmas!! And I wish you all the best for the new year!! Can't wait to catch up with you all again then xx

- A

25 Weeks Pregnant Update

Wow!!!! 25 weeks down, only 15 to go!!!!!!

That is a crazy thought! Do I feel ready?? No. I feel like at this point with Sienna I was a lot more prepared, which in reality now that I have looked back on a calendar wasn't the case at all. I was probably just as unprepared. And we have done fine with her, right? =)

This pregnancy I need to get a lot less things prepared than with the first. We have a lot of stuff that we used with Sienna that we will be reusing with this one, so that makes it a lot easier. And we have lots of friends who have little boys and have offered to pass on things to us. (For those who didn't know... Spoiler alert... Blueberry is a BOY!) As there are a lot of other things for us to focus on this time too ie. Christmas, Work and Sienna, I think that makes us feel a lot less prepared than we probably are. We I was pregnant with Sienna that was all that we have to focus on and think about, so everything seemed to come together earlier. But all in all I am feeling pretty good about everything.

I am feeling extremely tired constantly. But I have a feeling that even if I wasn't pregnant right now I would still be feeling that way because this time of the year seems to have that effect on me. It just doesn't help on those nights that Sienna doesn't want to sleep. Which lucky enough, isn't that often. (Touch wood).
I am finding it difficult to lift Sienna at the moment, and to play with her on the ground when I have to bend over to her a lot. I am getting pains in the lower back and my belly tightens a lot which is very uncomfortable, and I get out of breath a lot.  I have already been told that I can't go under the tables at work to find stock and I can't go up on the ladder either, which makes me feel a bit useless there too. These are all things that my brain wants to do but my body just won't let me.

I am feeling a lot of movement. Which I am going to take as a good thing. I was worried for a while there because I felt nothing for ages, but now that it has started it is going for gold. I am feeling a majority of kicking on the inside though. Josh will but his hand on my belly and not feel anything when I am feeling a whole heap.

I haven't had any real cravings with either of my pregnancies. Although right now I could so go a good fruit salad. I don't think that's a craving though, it's just summer and I'm hot and need some refreshing.

I think that's about everything though... Here's a belly shot below to show you how huge I feel (excuse the shiny head, bathroom lights, blonde hair and fair skin don't mix)....

What is Something You Can't Live Without?

So... Something that is always on in my house and I think I would go crazy without it is... MUSIC!!

No matter what time of the day, or no matter what's going on. I love to have music playing in the background. Not only does it boost my mood, but it helps Sienna to go down for her naps and she loves bobbing around to the different songs. When she was younger, dancing to music with her in our arms was one of the only ways we could stop her from crying.

I cannot imagine a life without music. It is such a special and individual way to express yourself. At the moment because Christmas is coming up, we have a lot of Christmas music playing in our house. Right now I'm playing the Christmas album of a band named 'She & Him". They are a fantastic easy listening, kind of folky duo headed by Zooey Deschanel from the show "New Girl". I love all their stuff and was so excited when I heard they were releasing a Christmas album this year.

I think I was born in the wrong era sometimes. As much as I love listening to new release music, I absolutely love the old school sounds of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Billie Holiday, and even Edith Piaf. The laid back sound just does it for me =) I could listen to them all day.

So I'm putting the question out there to you guys and gals.... What is something that you have around your house every day that you couldn't live without? (It could be something you don't even realise you are using every day) Let me know in the comments below....

New Year, New Challenges!

Hey Guys!!

I know the amount of times you see the title of this blog is incredible... The start of any new year seems to be the perfect time to start the "New You". In reality I don't see why new challenges and goals can't be set on any day of the year, I guess the 1st of January is just a clean time to start. So this year I am going to jump on the band wagon and set new challenges for myself. I am also going to share them on here as a way of tracking how I am keeping up with my challenges... I can already see this going badly but.... its always worth a try ha ha!

Below are the goals I am going to try to stick to in 2017:

1. Spend as much time with the kids as possible.

Now this seems like a pretty straightforward goal and one that I should be already trying to achieve. Sienna and I spend a lot of time together as it is, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to keep up with her he amounts of energy as my baby bump is progressively getting bigger. When new baby comes I still want to be making sure that Sienna is getting quality time with mummy. I also want to make sure that they are not confined to just having fun in the household, I want to get outside with them as much as possible.

2. Have a date night/ day with Josh at least once a month.

Again, a goal that should be apart of everyday life anyway. I am finding that with Sienna, and I know that it is going to get even worse with another one, is that Josh and I are forgetting to spend time together, away from the kids.. Life no longer revolves around you when you are a parent and you forget that you need to be spending time with your spouse. And finding a babysitter is hard (it's actually probably not, as we have had so many offers, I think it's more the fact that we/I have difficulty leaving her behind). I need to learn to let go, as she is growing into a toddler and I would like to spend more time alone with Josh.

3. Get my house organised and clean.

This is when you can tell I'm getting old, when cleaning the house becomes a goal. This one is more of a challenge for me as I am not the neatest person in the world. I am going to try my best to stick to a challenge I found on Pintrest - Home Storage Solutions 101: 52 Weeks to an Organized Home: 2017 Plan, http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html  It terrifies me but excites me at the same time because as I said cleaning and organising are not my strong suits and I have a baby on the way along with a 1 year old so finding the motivation and time to clean and organise will be a challenge. But it is something that I want to make into a habit more than a chore.

4. Get back that pre-Sienna body.

Ever since falling pregnant with Sienna I have struggled to get that pre-baby body back. Then falling pregnant a second time I have gained even more weight this time as I didn't get to loose all the extra I gained with the first. I know that this is an extremely vain goal, but it's about feeling comfortable in my own skin again. I am going to be easing back into my workout routines by starting with Yoga, from the "Yoga with Adriene" Youtube series, https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene I have done her stuff before and find she is A-MA-ZING!! She is funny and explains things really well for the blondes like me out there =) I was planning on working my way through her "30 Days of Yoga" and her "Yoga Camp" and to see where we go from there. (I am currently doing her Prenatal Yoga series and it is a God send). This also includes preparing a healthier meal plan for my family instead of getting lazy and ordering takeaway all the time. So I am very open to cheap and healthy meal recipes from anyone.

5. Save money!

This is a goal or challenge that I really struggle with too. Me and money are not good friends. If anyone out there in the bloggerverse has any tips or tricks on what I can do to save money I am all ears. I am going to start with putting amounts away every payday and storing all my small change as it adds up. I am also going to be as frugal as I can possible be with meal planning and cutting back on  coffees and treats like that. My main goal is to not struggle when it comes to the end of the year in 2017, (as I have a lot on at that time ie. Josh's birthday, Sienna's birthday, Christmas and car rego all in one hit) I want to be prepared financially at that time because this year I have really struggled.

6. Put up at least 1 video on my Youtube channel a month.

I know I said in my intro on Youtube that I was going to try and put up a few videos a week.... I didn't realise how hectic my life would be last year with Sienna and work and being pregnant and trying to fit everything in and to tell you the truth, I got lazy. =( I do, however really want to keep my friends and family updated on everything that is happening in our lives and as I don't get to see them very often, I feel this is the best way to do it. I will be blogging on here more frequently with updates on how my challenges and other things are going but through out the month I will be filming and putting up monthly overviews in Youtube. If you aren't already subscribed and would like to watch these monthly videos, check us out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOFUNfG99BxgtUAVbTx3rQ


And that's pretty much is the lot. Basically I want to improve all the aspects of my family life next year. I want to be a better person and therefore a better mum, partner, daughter, sister and friend. 2017 is going to be another big year for us and I really want to make the most of it. Wish me luck =)

Anyhow, I am going to check out now. Have an amazing and safe Christmas everyone reading this. And I'll speak to you all again soon xx      

-A