5 Super Easy Maternity Halloween Costumes

The Lazy Mum-to-be's Guide to 

Pregnancy Halloween Costumes

1. 8 Ball
A super cute and insanely easy idea. 1 paper plate, 1 black marker, a couple of pins and you're sorted!

2. Avocado
So you can go all out with the cardboard and paints like the first snap here but the second snap is just as cute and a lot quicker to make. A bit of card, some markers and paints and some string. Bingo! 

3. Fried Egg 
Love this idea! All you need is a yellow tshirt, some white card, string and scissors... looks great right?

Or, you can do what this lady did.. Scrap the card and cut a hole in a white tee. Easy peasy! 

4. Skeleton Maternity Tee
A quick and easy Amazon purchase... now who doesn't like that one eh?

5. Pumpkin
One orange shirt, black markers or cut out black felt and you've got yourself a cute little pregnancy bump pumpkin!

Love 

LC

What happens at your first NHS UK midwife appointment

I had my first midwife appointment booked in around week 9 and when the confirmation letter arrived through the post I was a little apprehensive about what it would actually involve. 

In the UK, midwife’s handle all of your antenatal care in the run up to ‘baby day’ and mine was at the local hospital I’d told my Doctor I’d like to give birth at.

My appointment took around an hour and a half and was a good way to get acquainted with the layout of the hospital – after all, I was going to be spend A LOT of time there in the next few months!

When we arrived at reception I was asked to do a urine sample before the appointment and got an infamous Bounty folder and lots of useful information to digest later.

Should you bring your partner? 

Sure - I did, and it was absolutely fine. I think it’s nice to share in the antenatal experience and I wasn’t the only one either, the waiting room had 4 other couples doing the same. 

Your midwife will want to speak to you alone for a few questions but the rest they can be involved in. It’s also handy to have them in the room as some of the questions about lifestyle and health relate to the father.

My midwife brought me into the room and later Jason followed and began to explain the whole process and important things I’d need to know. She was absolutely brilliant and, I’d imagine like most midwifes, very warm and kind to speak to. 

Next, we began answering a long and varied list of questions all designed to find out about us and our health and wellbeing really. If we smoke, how much we drink, if we’ve ever done drugs, hereditary illness in our direct family, our mental health, my job etc etc etc.

After this my blood pressure was taken, my weight and height to determine my BMI and I was sent off for three blood samples. Then… we were done!

What was also great is that they had an online system set up called Maternity Notes. It meant that, when my results did arrive, I would be able to access them straight away in real-time from either my laptop or my phone.

6 things to do before your first midwife appointment:

1. Drink plenty of water – they’ll expect a urine sample on arrival
2. Make a list of questions you want to ask (You’ll find some inspiration here)
3. Bring a pad and pen - You’ll likely be given a lot of information and possibly some new dates too
4. Make sure you know the date of the start of your last period – they’ll use this to estimate your due date
5. Avoid taking you top off every 5 minutes for blood tests and blood pressures by wearing a short-sleeved top
6. If the hospital car parking charge is anything like ours way… be prepared to spend your life-savings on it

As always, thanks for reading! 

Love 
LauraClaire

10 items to get you through the 1st Trimester

The 10 items I realised I desperately couldn't live with out to get me through the horrid 1st Trimester as a new mum-to-be...

Pregnancy Apps

Top of the list of course, has got to be pregnancy apps. There are about a billion out there but the three I skip between are Bounty, Ovia Pregnancy and Baby Centre. 

Ovia Pregnancy is great for regular little updates about baby, and size comparisons between fruit, pastries, toys and lots more! 

The Baby Centre seems best for articles on questions you might be having, and Bounty is good for freebies and a more realistic view of what baby might look like at each week.

Pregnancy multi-vitamins

A few friends I spoke to said that taking pregnancy vitamins made their nausea a lot worse. I didn’t experience that. When I had nausea, nothing seemed to make it better or worse really. It was simply…. nauseating. 

I've been using Pregnacare Original Vitamins. 

Although, like most vitamin supplements I can’t say I particularly ‘felt’ their effects but, with my distaste for food and my ability to only eat Chicken Chow Mein, having a pill that made sure I was still getting some nutrients was great for peace of mind.

I read one article where a woman claimed her pregnancy craving was salad. I hate that woman.

Bath tub thermometer

This really depends on how much you love a bath but, for me, it was a big deal. I love a bath and not just any bath, a skin-boilingly hot bath! If I’ve not come out feeling faint and bright red, it’s not a good bath in my books. Great for me, but not so great for baby…. Unfortunately.

Baby-friendly bath and room thermometers are a great buy if you’re like me. And of course, you can use them when baby comes too. Guidance online states that bath water temperature should sit around or below 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. 

I bought this little super cute Hippo for my Tub.. works a treat!

That being said, I took this guidance with a pinch of salt after reading this Telegraph article which says that pregnant women can enjoy hot baths and even saunas without risk for a short period of time.

Here are some of my favourites from Amazon... 

(they're clickable)

Body oil

I’ve always been fairly dedicated to a post-bath moisturise so swapping my normal moisturiser for Johnson's baby oil was simple. I was also gifted a Boots Stretch Mark oil spray (you can find it on Ebay now) which I used on my bump, chest and thighs. It’s important to keep this area soft and supple right from the start.

 
Snack pot Tupperware

I found that an empty stomach can quickly bring on nausea. On a visit to the spa in week 7 it was mum to the rescue with Tupperware pots of nuts and fruit which kept me going through till afternoon tea. Mum's always know best!

Tupperware Ideal Little Bowl Set of 3 in Green, Red, Blue

Sparkling water

Unfortunately, I only found out about this absolute win in week 12. A friend of mine told me that she glugged down litres of the stuff. Sparkling water is indeed your pregnancy friend.

A re-usable water bottle

Multiple re-usable bottles to dot around your home as you’ll start to drink like its going out of fashion (and unfortunately, I don’t mean gin and tonics!). A handy tip; keep a full water bottle in your bathroom each night. I was getting up to pee A LOT and it helped me stay hydrated at the same time which helped me feel a little less light headed in the morning.

I'm a big fan of the water bottles with timer markers to prompt you to drink through the day... we all need a little nudge am I right!

Comfort food in the cupboards

Toward the end of week 8 I was really starting to feel the dreaded symptoms the maternity articles warn you about. Week by week they grew in intensity and it shocked me how much I struggled with all day nausea, headaches and feeling exhausted. I went off pretty much all food at that time, and dreaded mealtimes… and trust me… I NEVER go off food!

I leaned on comfort food and meals from my childhood to get me through. Chicken chow Mein, chicken nuggets, egg and soldiers and Semolina puddings. If there are a few childhood dishes that spring to your mind now’s the time to stock the fridge. 

Maternity jeans and leggings

By week 10 I was sneakily undoing my jeans post-lunch. They’d fit fine in the morning but by the afternoon I was dying to come home from work and get my PJs on for some relief! A quick run to Mothercare for a pair of skinny black maternity jeans and a 3 pack of maternity leggings turned into a god send. My advice, ignore the forum mums that tell you that you shouldn’t be showing until week 15 and you should need maternity gear – if you want it, get it!

A spare pillow

In weeks 11 and 12, my bump was pretty plump and whether it was baby or bloating I started to get a little uncomfortable lying on my side in bed. At this stage a maternity pillow is a bit over-kill, but a spare pillow works a charm. 

Do you agree? What have a missed? 

Love 
LauraClaire