Butterfly Kicks and Puppy-Dog Tails

A few months have passed and I am on the cusp of the third trimester! 😮 How did this pregnancy go so fast?!

Not a lot happens in the second trimester. It's known as the best of the three, because you get some energy back and your bump isn't too big yet. Generally, I would agree with this. I suddenly didn't need to nap all the time, my appetite returned and with the news our baby boy was healthy, I could look forward to what was to come.

My bump has started to really grow now. It went from a neat little thing to a much more obvious baby bump. The funny thing is, I can still go from one person saying how small I look, to another commenting on how big I am, all in the space of a few hours 😂

19 weeks to 27 weeks!

19 weeks Pregnant

A growing bump means one thing....Shopping! I needed to go out and get several key pieces of clothes to carry me through winter and the rest of my pregnancy. A lot of people advise you not not buy much as you're not in it for very long. But lets be honest, your body takes 9 months to grow a human. So it's going to take 9 months (if not longer) to go back to the size it was, if it ever does.
So buying a larger wardrobe is not a bad idea.
I limited how many 'maternity' clothes I bought. I have 2 pairs or maternity shorts (for dog walks as I get so warm) and several pairs of maternity jeans. I originally bought some from Top Shop but found they fell down all the time, so bought some Mammalicious jeans after I got their shorts from Mothercare. They are so comfy and never fall down!
I have a few tops from New Look, with the extra material for a bump. Just for days when I don't want a top tight against my stomach.  Also they're a little longer in the body which is helpful when you're tall and have an expanding waist.
The rest of my winter wardrobe came from Primark. Lots of stretchy tops, jumpers and cardigans. I simply went up a couple of dress sizes. So they'll last until I'm ready for a summer wardrobe and my post pregnancy body has returned to which ever state it wants to.

You can see how empty my wardrobe looks once I'd sorted out which clothes still fitted me! (Not a lot lol)
But it was so nice to not feel stuck for everyday wear anymore. It's helped me embrace my bump, instead of feeling frustrated at how big I'm getting.

Another great part of watching my baby grow, is seeing how our dogs react to it. Elsa (our youngest) spent most of the first trimester helping me to incubate our son. Now that he can kick, she's suddenly not so keen to lay on me 😂 Our chihuahua, Guinness, hasn't reacted at all. But Barney, our older springer, is obsessed with me! He loves snuggling up to my bump and hates it if he can't be near me. Interestingly, Little Man doesn't kick when Barney lays with him. Just Elsa he likes to poke. I'm so excited for them to meet Little Man. I can tell how great they're going to be with him. We had them all in the nursery the other day to help get them used to the baby bits.

Barney Top and Left. Elsa on the Right

There are no photo of Guinness and my bump, because he doesn't ever lay on it. He prefers to snooze in front of our new fire or on his foot stool.

Which leads nicely into my next part. There are three things in life they say are the most stressful life events you will experience;

1. Getting Married (Planning the wedding)
2. Moving House
3. Having a Baby

Within a year, we will have done all three 😂

As mentioned in my first post, we got married on new year's eve. Then we put an offer on a house we loved and found out the following weekend that I was pregnant!
We moved into our new house when I was 4 1/2 months pregnant. The same weekend we also had two weddings to attend....talk about busy!
When moving weekend came, we officially got 24 hours notice! I'd had a little scare and gone to hospital to be checked. Thankfully, everything was ok. I had simply over done things, rushing around at work. So moving house then became me ringing every company to tell them, as I couldn't do anything else. I was on strict orders to rest. Difficult when everyone is helping you move house and you are away at weddings. All I can say is thank god for supportive family and friends. My hormones sent me a bit mad and I cried a lot that weekend. I was sad to leave the first house we had owned as a couple. We had our first christmas together, got engaged, spent the wedding morning getting ready, and found out we were pregnant in that house. It was a lot to say goodbye to. Coupled with guilt that I hadn't been able to help us actually move, I was an emotional wreck!

Once we were in the new house, everything was fine. We have so much more room for the three fur babies. We're closer to their favourite walks. We even managed to sort out the nursery!! The past few months have been a dream. We've just slowly worked at getting everything the way we want it. It wasn't as stressful as we thought it would be. Actually just like the wedding. We seem to be able to calmly just work on things and get everything organised in super quick time, without any drama. If the first two things can be less stressful than they're supposed to be....maybe we'll be lucky and find the same thing once Little Man arrives (one can hope).

We went with a safari theme for the nursery. He has lots of animal themed baby clothes too. I also made a piece with the three dog's paw prints and a postcard we bought in Florida last year. We love the room so much. It has such a calm feel to it. We often find ourselves just sitting in it, taking everything in.

During these past few months, I have been in awe of my ever changing body. I love seeing how it grows and adapts to this new chapter of life. It still amazes me that it can grow a tiny human!
Having more energy has allowed me to get back to our long dog walks. Seeing how happy the pups are in the new house, and out on their daily hikes is everything to me. Their tails never stop wagging. Seeing that, and feeling Little Man kick, are my two favourite things at the moment. The little tiny flutters that I initially felt, have turned into good strong boots in my ribs. He always stops kicking if anyone else tries to feel him (unless it's Elsa 😂)
Apparently this is because they can sense a different pulse to the mother so it makes them go still until they know everything is safe! How cool is that?!

I'm just hoping that I can keep the walking up as the next three months approach. Being outside with all the kids (furry and unborn) is the best part of my day. And once little man arrives, I plan to use a sling to carry him whilst we continue to climb over fences and through mud patches 💙