Week 24 Pregnancy Update and Youtube

         

How far along? 

The end of week 24.

Total weight gain? 

I've gained another 6 pounds since the last time I got weighed, wow! 
So I'm on track, I've gained just over a stone so far. It sounds like so much, I feel so big. 

Maternity clothes? 

Nothing new, although we have got a few bits for the little one this week, I'll do an updated haul soon :)
I forgot to mention the lace dress I'm wearing in my video (which was very kindly gifted to me) is from Little Black Dress maternity section. The great thing about it is that it's designed to be maternity as well as pre and post baby, so basically it's for everyone. 
It's honestly the most comfortable maternity item I own and I'm going to dedicate a whole post to it soon, now I have a visible bump to show. Thanks little Black Dress :)

Stretch marks? 

Not yet, I'm definitely pushing it now, aren't I?! My Mama Mio Tummy rub butter ran out :( So I'm now using the Nspa Oil instead. I really like the smell of it. I'm now using it on my thighs and bum too (glamourous, eh?) as they continue to get bigger.
I'm dreading stretch marks. I know they are pretty much inevitable, and perhaps I wont mind what my tummy looks like after, as I will know it grew my baby.

Sleep? 

I'm still waking up in pain cos of my legs/ thighs feeling numb, and now back ache too :/ 
I can't wait to be able to sleep on my back again! 

Best moment this week? 

Definitely getting our little cot and a few more practical items, like a bottle warmer. This definitely makes everything feel much more real, and the time seem like it's gone SO fast!

Oh also, one evening, I'm not sure what Jeffy was up to in there but the top of my tummy went flat and my now outy returned to its former inny state for about 10 minutes, it was so funny! 

Worst moment this week? 

Feeling sad and hormonal the morning of week 24 and being scared that all my hormones and feelings from earlier in the pregnancy were rearing their ugly little heads. But luckily I felt better by lunchtime, I guess I would describe it as feeling more gloomy than anything else!

Miss anything? 

Sleeping on my back!
Drinking :( 6 months sober now, oh good god how I miss a stiff gin and tonic.

Movement?

The beginning of the week started off lazy for my little boy, he had a very active couple of days at the end of week 23, so I think he had just worn his little self out. 
The movements now seem to be more dramatic, lots of big rolls and things being dragged across my tummy.
Every so often I'll see a big hard round patch sticking out, I think it might be his little head, but of course I really have no clue so I can't be sure.

Food cravings? 

Hot chocolate, the good kind from Starbucks. Nutella. 

Anything making you feel sick or queezy? 

Not normally, although I did have a strange couple of hours of nausea one lunchtime at work, it's SO not fun.

Gender? 
We have a little boy tucked up in there.

Symptoms? 

Period pains, I'm not sure if these are to do with ligament stretching or if they might be the beginnings of the famous Braxton Hicks (although I'm pretty sure I would know about those!).
Back ache has finally appeared and is no fun. I'm going to join a new yoga class next weekend though so hopefully that will help. 
Oh, I've also had a few leg cramps too, ouchee. 

Belly button in or out? 

Out, very visible through clothing too!

Looking forward to? 
More baby shopping, seriously, it's the best thing ever! 

My beautiful new make-up bag...

It's actually a little sad how much I enjoy my new little make-up bag. 
Mint, floral, and super organised, tell me what's not to love, ladies?!

After spying it over on Vivianna Does Make-up a few weeks back, and feeling utterly ashamed of my somewhat revolting old excuse for a make-up bag, I decided to hunt this beautiful Paul & Joe make-up bag down while we were in the beauty hall at Selfridges. 
Somehow, a shopping trip intended for baby hat purchasing ended up in the beauty hall... don't judge me!

Although finding the Paul & Joe counter proved to be a somewhat stressful experience on a packed Saturday afternoon, let me tell you it was well worth it. 

You know when you're a kid, and at the beginning of each term at school you get all excited about getting a new pencil case and filling it up with new stationary? (Someone please tell me I'm not the only one?!) Well, this is like the 'grown-up' version of that feeling, Vivianna definitely got it right when she described this as the 'filofax' of make-up bags. 
I've been looking for a new make-up bag for SO long now, and I'm just the pickiest lady in the world so have been putting up with my old one until I found the perfect replacement. 
I love this SO much I  actually cleaned up all my make-up and brushes before putting them all in... haha

The best thing about this gorgeous little bag, apart from it's pretty-ness is the organisation. 
It has two removable pouches inside, one of which is see-through for quick access to those items you use most. I love the little pockets at the back for your brushes so they don't get damaged, a super important feature in my eyes, and rare to find in a make up bag. 

I can't believe I've managed to blab on for so long about this...

Have you ever shopped in Paul and Joe? What's your make-up bag of choice? 

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

I'm not really sure what I expected when I tried this 'Beauty Flash Balm' by Clarins. To be honest, I wasn't totally sure what it actually was... apparently it has been Clarins best selling 'radiance booster' for years now, and is supposed to help you achieve 'a more beautiful appearance in a flash'.

You can use it as a primer or a facemask, which initially seemed a little odd to me, but let's just go with it?!
 Anyway I've been using it as a primer. I'm not normally one to bother too much with a primer on myself (I know, bad beauty blogger & make up artist!) but you guys all know I'm very into products with a gentle comforting smell, and this is the real selling point for me with this one. It smells beautiful. For some reason it reminds me of being on the beach with my mum when I was little, and I love how after I apply it, I can still smell it on my own face for a couple of hours afterwards. I sound like such a freak...

Okay, so you have to apply a thin layer and don't rub it in, followed immediately by your normal make-up routine. 
As you can see from the photo, this is ever so slightly tinted, but not enough to show up. It has this gorgeous lightweight texture that sinks into the skin instantly, it's almost like you can feel you skin drinking up the goodness.
As a make-up base, it leaves my skin with very satin finish and it definitely does do a good job of keeping my make up in place all day.

I've found this so good for perking up my dull skin, and has definitely been great to use whilst being preggo and trying to fake the 'glow'. It manages to get that delicate balance just right, keeping oily shine at bay, whilst still letting me achieve that dewy glow most of us strive for with our skin these days. 

Over all, a winner for me and a welcome addition to my routine every morning.

Have you ever tried Beauty Flash Balm? What are your favorite primers?
 

Week 23 Pregnancy Update and Youtube vlog

             

How far along? 

End of week 23, I know I say it every single week but it's going so fast! 

Total weight gain? 

I have a midwife appointment next week so I'll find out then. All I know is the waistband on my maternity jeans is rather snug right now. 

Maternity clothes? 

Stefan very kindly bought me another 2 pairs of maternity jeans from Topshop, as I've been living in my black ones and I tend to wear jeans throughout most of the winter too. So I know I'll get lots of use out of them. So, I got the light blue ones and the dark blue too, lots of choice now, thank god! 

Stretch marks? 

Nothing yet. I know I'm pushing my luck now and they are very likely to appear soon. 

Sleep? 

Sleep hasn't been great. I'm getting some hip pain this week and waking up early in the morning having to wedge a sizeable cushion in between my legs to help re-align my spine. I've also been getting pains in my lower spine that makes sleep uncomfortable. Also as I'm sleeping with 3 variously placed cushions, it's kind of a pain when I roll over I have to move them all!

Best moment this week? 

Definitely has to be on Sunday when little Jeffy started moving like his normal little self again. 

Worst moment this week? 

The worst moment this week by FAR has definitely got to be freaking out because he wasn't moving like normal. Ever since he started moving he's been such an active baby and then on Thursday and Friday last week he just went quiet. When I did get kicked it was very faint. I panicked and went to hospital, the midwife took about 15 minutes to find his heartbeat. It was honestly the most terrifying 15 minutes of my life, I was so scared. She eventually found out, way down low near my pubic bone, and said that he must be curled up tight down there which is why I haven't been able to feel much. You can imagine my relief! 
On Sunday he seemed to have moved back up to where he was lying before and was much more active like usual. I did NOT enjoy his quiet time and felt so much better when he moved back to his normal spot. 

Miss anything? 

Nothing really to be honest. 

Movement?

Nothing for a couple of days and then back to normal by Sunday, fewf. I've had some really big movements again the past couple of days which I've been loving. Movement has been more like big rolls and rippling feelings with a few big punches thrown in there too!

Food cravings? 

Chocolaaaaate!!! Hot chocolate, chocolate muffins, chocolate bars... 
We have friends coming over for dinner next week and I'm planning on baking a chocolate fluff pie. Seriously, I'm obsessed. 

Anything making you feel sick or queezy? 

Nothing :)

Gender? 

A boy.

Symptoms? 

Backache, but nothing I can't hendle yet. 
Hip Ache, like I said before.
Being a little emotional at the beginning of the week, I'll admit now I was a little oversensitive. Poor husband, haha. 
Oh, I've also had a little bit of a leaky boob on one side, ah! 

Belly button in or out? 

Well and truly OUT! 

Looking forward to? 
This coming Monday, our friends are very kindly giving us a lovely little cot to use. I can't believe we'll have his little cot next to our bed all ready to be set up. I'm so excited I can't wait!
We've also started ordering other items like the bunny nightlight above :)

Xen Tan Absolute Lux

Hey beauties! So, finally a little beauty post from me. I know they are few and far between at the moment, sorry about that, but as you can probably tell my life is a little pregnancy and baby focused of late.

I really do keep meaning to film a couple of beauty tutorials for my YouTube channel too but never seem to get around to it before it gets too dark in my house! 

Anyway, onto Xen Tan. 

So, I finally did it. I gave in to the beauty blogger hype and purchased the cult tan. If I'm honest I think the full price tag of £40 is a little too much to pay for a self tan, but I found mine on Amazon at a much friendlier price of £25. 

I've been using this about twice a week for just over a month now, so I think that's a good amount of testing time. As you can see this tube has been well loved, so it's about time I shared my thoughts with you. 

I'll start with the positives... 

Firstly, my favourite thing about this tan has got to be the colour. I've had so many compliments on it and really prefer the colour of this tan to any other I've tried, including my beloved St Tropez mousse. That's really saying something too!

It's the closest I've ever found to the colour that I would actually get if I had a real tan from sunbathing. 

Next, the smell. I know that smell isn't normally a positive thing when reviewing a self tanning product, most of them are really strong and offensive! But I feel like Xen tan is an exception, they've managed to mask the 'tanning smell' with a nice gentle vanilla scent. 

Obviously it does still have a hint of tan smell, but mostly it's rather pleasant. This is a huge plus for me, I apply my tan at night before I go to bed and it's do much nicer going to sleep on a gentler smell (and I'm sure hubby would agree too!). 

Although initially I wasn't crazy about the cream form (more on that later) it did make my skin feel moisturised afterwards, which I don't think is something I've ever got from a tan before, I usually like to moisturise first. With Xen tan I don't feel the need to do so, (with the exception of elbows and knees). I actually like putting this on my face as it has a nice texture. 

The staying power is very good, I tan once or sometimes twice a week. But, bear in mind that I also shower every single night so that affects the staying power. I'm sure if this wasn't the case, I need only apply it the once! 

Okay, now for the things I'm not so keen on...
The formula of this tan is cream. Now, I've never ever used a cream tan before. I've always been a mousse or spray lady. So, the first couple of times I used this, I found the application a little tricky. I used a mitt, just for the practical reason that I wanted to avoid stained hands. Although I'm 100% positive that it would look better if I could apply it with my hands, very annoying. 

Anyway, on application it gives a little instant colour but not a huge amount, so it can be quite tricky to see which areas you've covered. The first time I applied, I was NOT good at this. I woke up so patchy the next day that I wouldn't have normally given this tan another try if I hadn't liked the colour so much. 

As you get used to it though, it becomes easier to apply and eventually you find the knack. 

I also found as I neared the end of the tube that the packaging hindered my tanning. I am aware this sounds ridiculous, but knowing you have product in there that you can't get too is so frustrating! This really would work better if it was in a pump bottle, and I think that's the case for all self-tans. It's just easier and less messy. 

The last thing I didn't like about this tan is that it's tough to exfoliate off, in order to get the next application looking even. You can get there, but it's more effort than it should be! 

So all in all, despite the bad points, I ended up really liking this tan. I wouldn't pay the full price for it, but as long as I can find it discounted it will be my tan of choice this winter. Gotta keep a bit of colour on us haven't we ladies? 

What are your thoughts on Xen Tan? Whats your current tan of choice? 

Pregnancy Update week 22...

How far along? 
The end of week 22, eeep! Time certainly seems to be flying by. I'm hoping it will carry on because I just can't wait for cuddles with this little chap. 

Total weight gain? 

We all know by now that I never weigh myself... last time I got checked though it was 8.9lbs up.
My bra size has gone up a whole cup size again too... eeep. 
Measurements...

Maternity clothes? 

This week, bras (again!). My boobs hurt so much one morning when I was at work, I had to de-bra myself (I know, kind of gross at work), and nip out on my lunch break to buy 2 rather depressing looking non-wired t-shirt bras from M&S. The joys of being pregnant haha. 
Thank you so much to all of you who have since tweeted and messaged me about slightly more attractive maternity and nursing bras, I think I need a whole shopping trip to tackle this! 

Stretch marks? 

Nothing yet. I'm over halfway, so I expect they'll be making an appearance soon. I'm currently using the Mama Mio Tummy Rub, in combination with their Boob Tube cream for my poor achy boobies. 

Sleep? 

Sleep has been fine this week, I'm usually pretty wiped out by the time I get to bed.

Best moment this week? 

My blogging friend Lucy (her preggo blog is one of my favs by the way!) recommended a programme programme called The Midwives which I absolutely loved watching and found really interesting. Stefan even watched the end half of it voluntarily! 

Oh also, we went to our friends house for dinner on Saturday night, and she made the most incredible chocolate pie. You guys know how much I adore chocolate at the moment,  I could have actually cried with happiness when she told me! 

Worst moment this week? 

I haven't really had one this week to be honest, yipee!! 

Miss anything? 

Nothing this week really.

Movement?

Heaps of movement! I certainly have one extremely active little fella in there, I feel movement throughout most of the day now. There are times when he's quieter or less aggressive with his kicking, but generally lot's of activity from him, which I absolutely love so far. The kicks aren't really hurting yet, sometimes they make me jump though!
Movement has also changed, it's not just kicks and punches anymore, I get this weird rippling feeling which I think is him rolling over. You can see this from the outside of my tummy too, it's very strange but wonderful :)

Food cravings? 

I'm trying to eat healthier but honestly I still want to stuff my face with chocolate. 
Not really a craving as such, but I am particularly enjoying veggie curry at the moment without the rice, yum! 

Anything making you feel sick or queezy? 

nope :)

Gender? 

I have a little chap in there :)

Symptoms? 

I've had bad back ache on a few occasions this week, which isn't the best. It's at it's worst in the evening and sometimes I just can't face the little things like emptying the dishwasher etc. i suppose sitting at a desk all day at work doesn't help very much but there's not a lot a can do about that really. I'd KILL for a preggo massage, but they are just SO expensive!

Ridiculously sore boobies, so much so that i have to cover them up when I shower because the water hitting them actually hurts!

I've also felt pretty tired, nothing on the first trimester of course but I had an afternoon nap both days last weekend.

Growing pains in my tummy, sometimes they feel like sharp stabbing pains and other times like period pains . 

Belly button in or out? 

Out! 

Looking forward to? 
This sounds silly but a couple of the pregnant ladies who's blogs I follow and who I sometimes chat to, are due pretty soon, and I'm so excited for them to have their little ones and hear all about it! 

Pregnancy Update week 21

How far along? 

The end end of week 21, aaaah! I feel like this weeks update isn't overly interesting as I've had a really good week preggo wise, so sorry in advance. 

Total weight gain? 

I haven't weighed myself since last week, I definitely look bigger now though, bum and thighs are taking the hit. Which I'm not massively happy about I'll admit, but I know it's just to support the tummy weight I'm gaining.

Maternity clothes? 

Nothing new this week but I need new bras, again!

Stretch marks? 

None yet. 

Sleep? 

Sleeps been rubbish this week, I constantly need to pee in the night, and then the little one seems to think it's fun to kick me while I'm trying to fall back to sleep...

Best moment this week? 

I've been in such a great mood (minus one half of a day) this week, it feels so good to finally enjoy being pregnant and feel like myself again. Doing a spot of baby shopping was probably my highlight. 

Worst moment this week? 

I had my first counselling sesh this week (finally), and although I've felt pretty good since finding out we were expecting a boy, I woke up on that day feeling really down again. I guess it was good timing almost, but I was just so scared that the horrible feeling was coming back and that I'd only just started genuinely enjoying it. Luckily it passed after the first half of the day, fewf. 

Miss anything? 

I love having my little bump now, but I do kind of miss being able to fit into any of my clothes, it's so hard to dress these days! 

Movement?

Crazy amount of movement 

Food cravings? 

I still just want to stuff my face with chocolate. 

Anything making you feel sick or queezy? 

Nope, finally! 

Gender? 

A little boy, for those of you asking, we have 2 names we like and are going to see what he looks like when he is born, until then, it's going to be a little secret :) 

Symptoms? 

Backache, definitely worse in the evenings. 
Very sore boobies. 

Belly button in or out? 

Definitely an outy now!

Looking forward to? 
Ordering our pushchair, I can't believe we are over halfway now, it's going so fast! 

Oh, I'm also totally addicted to making baby boards on Pinterest now, (late bloomer as always)  come and say hi :) 

Youtube Baby Boy Haul

            

hey guys, it's FRIDAAAAAY!! Yeah!!

I don't know about you but I am a little excited about the weekend. 

I'll try and go back to doing some photo diaries now I'm feeling perkier, I know I'm a little bit hopeless at keeping up with my blog at the moment, and some of you are missing my older style beauty posts. I guess preggo/baby themed posts are great for those who re interested, but I know a lot of you initially followed me for beauty so I'll try and get those back on here too. 

Anyway here is my first ever gender based clothing haul. Seriously, who knew shopping for teeny tiny clothes was so much fun?! It's totally one of my favourite parts of being pregnant so far. let me know if you like the clothes, and if you know anywhere else I might like to shop for the little squirt. 

Oh, if you missed my week 20 video update on my youtube channel, you can watch it here.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and if you've got a pregnancy/mummy blog, please do leave me the link!