12 week scan!

I've been so excited for this day to eventually come but now I am a little apprehensive as well. I don't really want to think of the worst but also need to prepare myself incase everything is not ok. Although I think I'd rather try and be positive, there's not much point in worrying until I know there is definately something to worry about!

One of the girls at work asked me straight out today if my hospital appointment had anything to do with a baby. I couldn't lie so just said I would be able to answer that question tomorow! She said she looked at me today and thought I may be pregnant, apparently I'm also looking a bit tired. Not surprising really since I don't seem to get a full night's sleep anymore. I either wake up needing the loo or just lay awake in the early hours of the morning. Oh how I miss sleeping on my stomach! But I shouldn't complain, it's only for another 6 months!

I feel like I'm really starting to show now, my bump is really rounded, like a little ball. At least my trousers still fit, can't say the same for my bras though! 

We purchased a baby furniture set last night on the internet. It is a cot, dresser with baby changer on top and a wardrobe. They are a beige colour with wooden trim, hopefully they will look as nice in real life as they do in the picture! (which for some reason I can't seem to upload)

 

10 weeks

On Sunday I had my first appointment with the midwife who was very bubbly and friendly. There were loads of forms to be filled out, they took my weight, height and bmi as well as my blood pressure. A sister took my blood but halfway through the needle fell out of my arm - was a little painful. She was having trouble locating my vein in the other arm so she had to call the midwife in - she did a much better job and I hardly felt anything. I did feel a bit feint afterwards though and had to lie back for a while. My next appointment with the midwife is at 16 weeks and I'm guessing I will get all the results from the blood tests then.

Next big appointment is the 12 week scan, can't wait but I am also a little aprehensive, I just hope everything is ok......

Things are looking up with the house. Our application has been approved and we're just waiting for the paperwork before we can sort out the mortgage - scary!! We went to look at the house again on Sunday and even met our prospective neighbours. They seem really nice, a family with a boy and girl - not toddler screaming age thankfully and they seem quite well behaved. Phew! We're going again on Sunday to show hubby's stepdad the house and to measure up. We have a huge dinning table that hubby is adamant will fit in the kitchen  - I am not sure and really don't want a cramped kitchen! I've suggested we take off the legs and store it until we move again, and get a smaller sized cheap table in the meantime, we can still use the same chairs. I'm secretly hoping it is such a tight squeeze - hopefully stepdad will back me up! I really love the table but it's just too big!


 

9 Weeks

My bump picture at 9 weeks. Not the most attractive picture I'm afraid but I was quite put out when my mum said I must be 'imagining' my bump! It may not look big at the moment, and I know it's quite early to show, but I did have a fairly flat stomach before. Now it looks as though i've eaten a few too many puddings! I sent mum the same picture and she says 'You win' but she still thinks I'm really early so must be having an elephant! Nice

Hubby and I went to look at a property on Sunday which we really like, we've managed to get a morgage in principle and are going this evening to see if they will hold the house for us - how exciting! Some BIG changes this year, 3 major ones too: wedding, moving house / buying house and baby! It may be a bit stressful but things seem to happen all at once for me anyway, I packed up all my things and moved over to the UK, had to find a new job and then a month later we had to move house! 
I'm really hoping everything is approved and we get the house, it's a bit further away to travel to work, but once I'm on maternity leave I will have to decide if I want to go back anyway - or find a new job. It would be so nice to have our own place, I realise it comes with responsibilities but we can hang up whatever pictures we want and I finally get a garden with grass!!

Fingers crossed for this afternoon!

223 Days to go

I feel like I'm living in limbo at the moment - I can't wait for our scan so we can tell everybody our news, it's driving me mad! My mum also keeps asking when she can tell her friends! I have my first appointment with the midwife next weekend so hopefully she can give me a date for our first scan - a friend mentioned that I should get a letter from my doctor but when I told the surgery I was pregnant they just gave me a 'midwife' pack to fill out and return. I'm a bit surprised by the lack of information - lets just hope I will be able to get an appointment in time because I dont' want to wait till week 20 for my first scan!

I still feel pretty bloated and can't seem to eat big meals. I've not really put on much weight yet but it's still early days I guess.  My clothes are feeling a little tighter though, not sure how long I can wear my work trousers! I do need to get some work shirts though to cover up my trousers when I can't do up all the buttons anymore! I do plan on repurposing some trousers into maternity wear since I don't fancy spending the next 7 months being uncomfortable.

Apart from my boobs getting bigger - much to hubby's delight - there are not any visible changes yet. My sister said I did have a 'glow' about me though I think I look pretty tired most of the time! I'm really finding it hard to sleep now, I keep waking up during the night, I don't think it will get any better when I have a large belly and can only sleep on my side! I did sleep on my stomach for the first few weeks after we found out, but now I am too scared to incase I do some damage - pity because that's how I sleep best!

As for my diet I am drinking loads of water, eating lots of fruit and not a drop of alcohol, although I don't really miss it to be honest. I want to be as healthy as I can and not put on too much extra weight that I will have to try and loose after baby is born. I'm only managing to swim once a week at the moment, but hopefully my energy levels will come back a bit and I can go twice. I would like to join some joga classes or pilates classes for pregnancy and hopefully meet some other mums-to-be.



 

6 Weeks - 237 days to go!

Tonight we're going to see hubby's step dad to tell him the good news. I sort of wish I had more of a bump because it still feels a bit unreal, my belly is slightly bigger than it was but i think it may just be because I am feeling bloated as I don't think many people show this early on.... unless they're having twins!!! I want to enjoy my pregnancy but at the moment I just feel a bit uncomfortable and tired, thankfully this should pass when I'm further along. I can't to go shopping for maternity clothes and buy baby or BITO (bun in the oven) as my mum calls it, his/her little outfits! 
I really want to get the nursery done before the baby arrives, but i'm not sure we'll even be in our house then. We are hoping to get a place of our own but it depends on how long the whole process takes I guess.

I really like the idea of a Hot Air Balloon theme, there is a lovely tutorial for this paper mobile here 

 I really like this cushion as well

 I just love the hot air balloons here - ignore the fact that its's a twins' room!

I just love this mobile which comes with a tutorial

 This is pretty cute too..

I better stop looking for pictures before I get too carried away - still need to run the idea by hubby! 
Do you think it would work for a boy or girl?

Baby boom 242 days to go!

Everywhere I look it seems people are having babies, I am happy to say I am now one of them!! Last Friday I took a home test as I my period was late and since we had decided to try for a family after the wedding I was hopeful. The test came up positive but I did another one the next morning as well just in case - that was positive tpo! We've decided not to tell too many people, until the 12 week scan. I just want to be cautious until we know everything is ok, but want the support of my close family incase something does go wrong. Fingers crossed it won't be.

Last night we told my sister and hubby's brother. We decided to meet for dinner and I had to be careful about ordering a drink as I thought my sister would instantly twig. She didn't. I made an excuse about having a headache and when she said I should try her cider I pretended to take a sip and made a look of disgust - she was none the wiser still. I took a picture on my phone of the two tests I'd taken with the words 'Pregnant' on them and showed it to my sister - it took a few seconds for her to realise what it meant! She was thrilled and gave me and hubby a big hug. Hubby's brother did the same and also congratulated us. 

After dinner we all went back to our house and skyped my mum. I e-mailed her the picture too and while we were chatting said I needed her opinion on an e-mail I had sent and could she look at it while we were on skype. After she read the words 'pregnant' she said, "Are you pregnant?" when I said yes she kept saying "OMG!" It was really funny, at least she was excited - I told her she better pack up her things and get here before baby arrives! She asked if she could tell her friends but I've asked her to wait until the scan, although I did say she could tell one friend who is not on facebook and won't be likely to spill the beans!

I am supposed to 5 weeks pregnant if you go by the date of your last period, which is how you are meant to calculate your due date, but in reality I think I'm 3 weeks - we'll see what the midwife says in a few weeks when I see her. 

I don't really feel like I'm pregnant apart from the fact that I feel queasy quite often and am quite bloated most of the time. I also have little cramps every now and again so it feels like something must behappening inside me! I've also been feeling really tired in the evenings, the Monday before I did the test I couldn't understand why but it all makes sense now. Apparently the 1st trimester is the worst in terms of being tired and morning sickness.

Right now I am just trying to eat healthily, just the thought of chocolate makes me feel slightly ill! I've cut out alcohol and caffiene - the last time I had coffee I got such a bad headache, but since I've found out I've been drinking decaf.

I want to try and exercise regularly, probably just swimming but I may look into yoga classes in my area that are aimed at pregnant ladies. 

My hubby is convinced that I'm going to have twins - I am horrified at the thought and keep telling him he is wrong! My mum sent me this picture in an e-mail to me  today...

I guess she assumes our kid will look like this as we've both got blue eyes. I sent her a mail back saying I'm glad there is only one.... so she replied with 4 pictures - cow!
 

Post wedding update

It's been  a busy few weeks. We had our UK party which went really well - pictures to follow. I was getting quite stressed on the day, getting everything prepared - I can't imagine how I would have been if we'd had our wedding in the UK, would have been a nervous wreck!

Luckily everything came together and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The highlight of the evening was when Carl's sister  appeared - she made a surprise visit from Canada and had arrived in secret the night before. It was such a great surprise and I was so happy for Carl that he had his sister there.

We had to say goodbye to my Carl's sister and my mum ( who went back to South Africa) a few days after the party, and then it was back to work as if nothing had ever happened :(

I have had to throw myself into my course work again, dragging myself out of bed at 5:30 to hit the books. I have until the end of the month to complete my last assignment and then I can write my exam - hopefully that will be the end of it, I won't be happy if I fail!..

Some more pics of the big day..

I'm a Mrs!

On 9th July I married my best friend. We decided on a Cyprus wedding with a few family and friends - there were 25 of us altogether. I really enjoyed our day and would do it all over again if I could!

I have a few pictures but will hopefully post some more at a later stage when I have a bit more time.
We are having a party on Friday to celebrate with all those who couldn't come abroad - I get to wear my dress again, yay!! Lets hope it still fits after a week and a half of 'all-inclusive' at the hotel we were staying at!

Wedding socks

Just a quick one to show you what hubby's socks look like after I customised them. The diamante sticker was really easy to iron on and I think looks pretty smart - it matches the bling on my shoes!

Nails

On Sunday I went to get my nails done as a trial for the wedding. Because we leave for Cyprus on a Wednesday but only get married on a Monday, I need my nails to last a while.I think they may be quite expensive to have done at the hotel. My nails are really weak and break all the time so I didn't want to go with acrylic - also they look really bulky and it would annoy me if I couldn't pick things up properly! So I went for Shellac nails, is it a type of gel that is painted onto your nails and then set with a UV light. I think they look pretty smart! They are meant to last 2 weeks and apparently make your nails stronger - woohoo! Only problem is...... on Sunday evening one of them chipped :(  I rang up the place where I had them done on Monday and after a bit of pushing on my part, managed to get them to agree to redo the nail on Friday. They orginally said that they can't do anything after 3 days of having your nails done. Problem was I couldn't get to them during the week. It would take me 45mins to get to them if I left work at 5pm, but they close at 5:30. The earliest day I can get there is Friday as we finish at 4pm. To be honest I won't go to them again, what if my nails chip just as i'm about to board the plane for Cyprus. You can't really see from the pics but some of the French tips are not even and my thumb nail isn't fully painted white. Guess you live and learn!

Oh and just as I was taking the first pic, my cat Marley decided to jump on the cabinet - think he wanted to show his paws off too!

I have added the final touches to my Post Box pen holder for our UK party - I think it's quite smart!

Gift surprise for hubby 2b

Two months to go! I've been madly trying to finish my book keeping course, I finally did my First exam a few weeks ago and passed! So now onto Level 2 - I have until the end of may to complete it so really have to push myself, I'm sure I can do it though!

I've been putting together a little suprise for H2b for the day of the wedding when he gets ready.
I've got a list of songs together which I think are appropriate for the day so I will try and sneak them on his ipod and ask his brother to play them in the room.

H2b is always saying how he wants cricket cufflinks, he has an annual cricket dinner and never has nice ones to wear. So i got him these for our wedding day which he can wear again and again

 H2b loves Jack Daniels so I was thinking of getting him a mini bottle of Jack with a small can of coke, but then I saw this and decided it was even better. I'm going to fill it up with JD for him so he has something to calm his nerves!

I've also bought him some socks which match my shoes

and I have bought these to iron on

I have asked for his football team to sign a card for him, I'm hoping they will send it back as I did put a stamp on- fingers crossed.

I may add a chocolate bar and a mini can of coke (hopefully my mum can get one on the plane when she comes over!)

Now all i need to sort out is mum's present......

Post box

If you've had a look at our wedding invites you may have realised we have an airmail theme going.
We are having a party back in the UK for those people who couldn't attend the wedding in Cyprus. I wanted to have something to put the cards in so they will be safe and out of the way. I saw these post boxes which you can rent from here

They are not too cheap to hire so I thought we could do a cheaper more DIY version. I have asked H2B to knock up one made of wood. It won't be round of course but I think painted red, with a cut-out for the envelopes it will look quite good, this is progress so far....

and no we didn't shut naughty Marley in the box, he will climb into any box or plastic bag he finds! I will upload more pics as it progresses, I still think it may be a little tall but I already had to ask H2b to remake one as it was HUGE so I can't really ask him to make it again... can I?

For our guestbook I wanted to have a holder for pens as they will just go missing or roll of the table otherwise. I made this out of a jar and paper mache. I still need to gloss it and finish the front piece with some writing. You can just make out a pen sticking out the top so it may look huge but it is just sitting on the kitchen counter :)

2 months 4 weeks!

Time is ticking by and I'm not sure I've done much in the way of wedding planning lately. I've been working on my guestbook, I will post some pics when I'm nearly finished. I've also been working on a tiara, it's a bit trial and error at the moment so we'll see how that goes. My dress came with straps which I'm not wearing so I've taken the beads off to make my tiara (they're similar to those on the top of my dress)

I tried on my dress for the first time a few weeks ago, and it fit! I may just need to take it in around the top but I'm quite pleased. The only thing I'm worried about is my butt.... it doesn't look as shapely as I would have hoped.

 

So I will either have to wear some shaping pants like these from m&s 

or these 

But.... I really should do some shaping exercises. There are loads on the internet, mostly the same exercises but effective I think.
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/step-up-1?workout=6194
http://www.body-fat-lose.com/butt-shaping/butt-shaping-exercises.html

I'm also doing the Tracey Anderson matt workout - mostly for my arms and abs.

Wedding jewellery

After trawling the internet and being shocked at the prices I was seeing, I decided to buy a few bits off ebay and make my own! I made a necklace and earrings, still deciding if I'm going to have a headband so that's still a work in progress...

Baby boom

Unfortunately it's not me... or maybe fortunately since i'm getting married in just over 4 months and i wouldn't be able to fit into my dress if i was pregnant!

My friend had a baby girl last week so i printed on some little vests for her. She's not into all things pink so i decided to go for something a little more bright and cheerful

I stamped the words 'baby girl' on brown paper and wrapped them in it, then tied it up with a pink ribbon (had to have a little pink in there!)

I hope she likes them.

I made a Morrocan Lamb stew in my slow cooker a few weeks ago and brought my friend some to taste, she really like it so i decided to make a pot for her so she won't have to worry about dinner. I put in a packet of lemon and coriander couscous as well.

I'm looking forward to meeing the little one!

4 months, 3 weeks, 1 day!

... and counting!

Today H2B and I are going to look at rings today - yippee! He has his grandmother's old wedding band that his family have said he can incorporate with his own ring, so we're going to see what the jewellers can suggest. I am not a fan of gold but it looks good with H2B's skin tone, I was hoping we could do something like this

I like these ones for me!

 

We had some bad news this week, my one bridesmaid, H2B's sister, isn't able to make the wedding. It's a bit sad but we understand, she would be coming a long way, with long travelling hours and with a little one it wouldnt' be much fun. Also we was only able to take a week's holiday so that didn't allow much time after travelling. Luckily i hadn't ordered her dress yet and the shop were happy for me to only order the one even though i'd already paid the deposit for 2. So i may just treat my sister to some shoes afterall! I am still undecided about my shoes. I decided to keep the teal pair I bought, they were cheap and I will probably wear them in summer anyway. I have seen two pairs I like but one is £45 and I'm not sure I'd wear them again even though they are silver,  I do really like them though. The other pair is half the price and goes with the bridesmaids dress colour -I always said I wanted to wear blue shoes....! Can't decide!

I originally thought about having a lace parasol and mentioned this to my mum who said she thought it would look really nice for the photos. But then I saw a picture with paper parasols and I've decided to get them instead. Just can't decided if I should get 2 - for myself and my bridesmaid, or 3 - one for my mum.... since she is giving me away. Also my mum isn't a huge fan of the sun I thought she could use it after the wedding...

I have also just purchased my bikini for our 'honeymoon' - I say this because we are staying in Cyprus after the wedding so we're calling the extra week our honeymoon! It's so pretty, I love the colours! Should be arriving next week :)