Bump update

I never intended to put much pregnancy stuff on this blog. In the beginning there was very little I wanted to talk about, I just felt sick and a bit grumpy and that seemed to be the sum of pregnancy for a couple of months. And I really wanted this to be a spot for cooking, craft, cafés and all that jazz, and I didn't want to muddy it too much with personal stuff (I'm not what you'd call a 'sharer'...).

However... As the bump has grown so too has my interest. I've lost the nausea and the grumps, started picking up on my reading and research - both hard copy and online - and there's several little things I thought I might like to share, so I'll interrupt what - let's be honest - is not much of a coherently-themed blog anyway to go all preggo for a minute.

Blogs

For personal stories, I've really been enjoying That Wife . Beautiful photos and very open, eloquent, fascinating and funny posts covering all aspects of her pregnancy (stretchmarks, incontinence, perineal massage and all). In particular, I nodded along with her thoughts on taking risks whilst pregnant, found her birthplans really useful and interesting, enjoyed the week by week shots (have become completely fascinated by other womens' bumps!), and was introduced to the idea of having a birth photographer (not for me, but those photos are amazing aren't they?). (update - since I started writing this post TW has now had a beautiful baby boy! absolutely amazing photos on her site)

Project Subrosa finished with the whole pregnancy part a while back and is now well into motherhood. I've really enjoyed her insights and sharing too and in particular was shaken up recently reading this on postpartum depression, or the 'baby blues', which is beautifully written and seemed to be a very valuable and important thing to have read.

From the personal to the professional, I've recently gotten into a couple of midwife/doula blogs.

Stand and Deliver - lots of interesting information and food for thought on this blog by Rixa, who is a doula and has written a doctoral dissertation on the modern unassisted birth movement. Also a great links list which I am delving into slowly.

Helping Mothers Give Birth Joyfully Without Fear - from a doula and childbirth educator in Israel - is another blog I've found lots of interesting posts on.

Books

I haven't done an awful lot of reading yet, but these are those I've read so far:

Up the Duff by Kaz Cooke - I read this during the early stages, and it really suited me then. It's light-hearted and silly and made me feel comforted talking about silly thoughts and icky things in a comic manner. Early on I shied away from anything too 'involved' so this was perfect for easing me in. It goes week by week with a fictional diary and some information and I still like to flick to the appropriate week every now and then to get a little nugget of information to informatively share with B ("it can hear us now", "it's all hairy and red now" etc.)

The New Experience of Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger - I just finished this and really thoroughly enjoyed it. Throughout my second trimester I've got progressively more and more happy and excited about what's ahead, and this is a really positive and helpful book that has helped me put down some more solid knowledge about childbirth and think about the psychological aspects of pregnancy and childbirth. I like that she is writing from a position of a lot of very varied experience and I really like that she emphasises 'preparedness' - of body and mind - rather than putting an emphasis on a particular style or method of birthing. Very helpful.

I've just started also on Ina May Gaskin's book of childbirth. If I do another bump update I'll do a brief review then.

Shopping

I was impressed recently by a new-mum colleague who hasn't brought a pram yet because she uses a sling all the time. It looks so comfy and easily manoevrable. I'm hoping the baby and I both take to slings, as this would be a great option for a big city. Big Mamas Slings has a great range.

I want to try out cloth nappies, but the choice is completely overwhelming, so I'm planning on going to a 'Nappuccino' event, where various different types are demonstrated and sold. They arrange afternoons all over London.

For maternity wear, I've found Mamas and Papas to be very good. Everything I've bought from them (so far, two bras, two pairs maternity tights and two dresses is the sum total of my bump wardrobe) has been a big success. I tried some maternity jeans from Topshop, but they seemed to be all style over substance as they didn't actually stay up - not sure they'd quite worked out how to make elastic top work! So I returned those and will stay away from high street maternity ranges in favour of specialist shops I think. Hoping not to buy much more now.

Other

I've been going to pregnancy yoga at Triyoga twice a week most weeks since 13 weeks and absolutely love it. There's a lovely warm and communal atmosphere, you get to chat to other bumpy ladies a little, and the movement and exercise always makes me feel really good. Definitely recommend for those in the London area.

The bump

And finally an update on my belly - this is the bump at 25 weeks. I can see what my yoga teacher means about needing to sort out that dip in my spine. Must tuck that tailbone down! (and yes, btw, that is a sporran on the wall - B is Scottish and it was hanging around the house so I hung it there one day, as is my style of 'tidying up' - i.e. just kind of moving things around - and it's stuck there ever since.)