The Biggest Photo Post Ever

So, I've been a bit busy.  I haven't been blogging.  Instead, I have been drifting around in a loved-up haze of baby and family.

On 3rd December, we met Zachary.  The most divine, enormous, happy, mellow, cuddly giant baby boy I've ever had the privilege of knowing, let alone producing!  But more of that later on.

What's been happening since I was last on here?  In October, about 7 weeks before Zachary was due, we went on a holiday to Palm Cove.  I waddled around on swollen ankles, complained about the heat, napped, and ate enough for 2.  I was very ill right up until the final days of pregnancy, so I must confess I was a bit of a wet blanket on the holiday, but Tabitha had a marvellous time, spending hours floating around the pool in her swim ring.  We went with my parents, sister, and good friends of ours, M & M, with their twin daughters.

I stayed in the shallows, despite Tabitha's constant attempts to pull me in:

Thankfully, my little sister Q was on hand to entertain Tabby:

After reaching near hysteria over horrendous options in maternity swimwear, I managed to cram myself into a regular pair (albeit size 16).  They were actually quite nice!  The trick is to find a pair with a very low cut back, so that the fabric can pull forward over the bump without stretching too much.  I am most certainly not a bikini kinda gal, so I was pleased with this discovery.

Tabby enjoyed riding the 'baby beanbag':

And told me she was 'playing sand games with the baby brother':

Thankfully, the pregnancy passed relatively smoothly.  Apart from the shocking sickness, that is!  But we made it to 10 days over (as I did with Tabitha) before Zachary decided his time had come.  Unlike Tabitha (43 hours of labour), Zach was fairly obliging with his arrival.

Despite being 10 pounds, 56cm, with enormous shoulders, labour lasted only 5.5 hours from first sign to babe-in-arms.  No drugs, no stitches.  Quite a breeze, all things considered!  Unfortunately, we decided to transfer to hospital for the final half hour - he was born 30 minutes after we arrived at the local hospital - however my midwife was a little concerned that pushing was taking a long time for a second baby, and we decided that it was better to be on the safe side.  As it turned out, he was taking so long because of how enormous he was!  You see, everyone had predicted that he would be around 8 pounds or so, so it was a big shock when he was so large.  He arrived in excellent spirits, quiet and cuddly, 8 and 10 APGARS, and we were back home a couple of hours later, snuggled into our own bed with Tabitha, who was beyond thrilled to be cuddling her beloved baby brother.  After such a straightforward labour, I was pottering around the house that very afternoon, doing loads of washing and baking a cake.  It was nice to spring back so quickly - it took me a few days to even feel like walking after Tabitha's birth.

I will post more of a birth story (although there isn't much more to it!) and some photos from labour soon.

Here are some photos from when Zach was 2 days old:

All of the family hanging out in bed breathing in the beautiful newborn smell:

Tabitha has taken to her role as big sister beautifully, and is the most loving, protective, entertaining big sister Zach could possibly hope for.  His face lights up when he sees her, and she makes him laugh constantly.  Likewise, each morning Tabitha runs into our bedroom, to see "Mumma and Zachy" in bed, and tells him, "I love you Zachy!  Awww Mumma he's so cute!  His hair is so nice and fluffy!"

Lots of cuddles for my big girl, too, in the newborn period:

Miss T counting Zach's tiny toes:

And showing off her 'baby' for the camera, too:

Right from a couple of days old (below, too), Zach has been quite alert, so it's been very fun getting to know his personality.  He is the most happy, delightful, cheerful and easygoing baby - and he loves his mumma cuddles, around the clock if possible!  So he sleeps in my arms at night, and often snuggled into me in a wrap during the day.

Of course, he is also very happy to sleep snuggled into Daddy.  Below, also 2 days old.  He's not exactly tiny!

One of the best parts about a new baby?  The constant refreshing of beautiful new bouquets of flowers on the side table!  Here are a couple of the arrangements I received from thoughtful friends - along with all the new-baby essentials (water, tea, Kindle, skin salves and nipple creams!)

Finally, here are a few quick snaps of Tabitha over the past 5 months, just to get us up-to-date before I launch back into 'business as usual' blogging.

Fluffy hair and Mumma's shoes:

Pigtails:

That's Dr Pigtails to you, Mumma!

Helping The Daddy in the garden - in regulation toddler uniform of tutu, gumboots and a sunhat:

No more sunscreenm Daddy!

How about I put some on you, instead?

Cuddles with Pudding:

Best friends:

Zach loving the beach (holiday in Byron Bay over Easter):

 Tabby's favourite part of the Byron Bay holiday?  The swings.  Ahh yes, travelling 3 hours by plane for a week to swing - toddler logic!

Mr Happiness, AKA the Gentle Giant:

Zach had his baptism in February.  Tabitha got another wear out of her gold dress, from her 2nd birthday party:

Yep, she's still a cutie:

Still loves eating cake:

And helping to bake cake:

Thankfully, she's just as happy with a big bowl of fresh corn:

And here is a visual of overdue mumma (about a week overdue here):

But still smiling!  I actually got a second wind after 40 weeks - I suddenly felt a little lighter and healthier, and started to suspect the baby would never arrive:

Here I am the morning of the day I went into labour, out at Yum Cha (10 days overdue).  I thought maybe if I stuffed myself very full of dumplings, the baby would be pushed out!

Well, actually, it worked, because here I am less than 24 hours later:

Typical new baby photo, right?  He's about an hour old here, and I think I look completely exhausted but very content.

So there you go.  Up to date!  Let's get things back to normal, with some food and some cooking and some baby gear tips.  Stay tuned...

Nesting

I realised, just the other day, that I haven't really entered into a crazy nesting phase this pregnancy.  Last pregnancy, I spent much of the third trimester engaging in that typical, hormone-fueled - and often dangerous - cleaning and rearranging malarkey.  I say dangerous because, in hindsight, some of the things I did were just plain crazy and stupid - moving incredibly heavy furniture on my own (can't wait a few more hours until I have some help!), and balancing on a chair balanced on top of the bed, to scrub the top fittings of blinds with a toothbrush and antiseptic.  I can honestly say that, at the time, it seemed completely reasonable.  Did I mention this was at around 2am, when I was already a few days overdue?!

So, keeping in mind my risky behaviour from last time, I'm sure The Daddy is breathing a sigh of relief that my cleaning nesting drive hasn't kicked in this time!  I think there are three reasons why I'm more laid-back this time.

Firstly, we are in a brand new house, so there are no grimy corners, windowsills or light fittings to scrub.  Everything is freshly painted and clean, and I've spent the past few months airing out the house, clearing out any residual chemical fumes from the build and painting.

Secondly, my back is so bad - even with weekly chiro and weekly remedial massage - that I just physically can't do much cleaning.  Even a quick vacuum and mop can be enough to have me sobbing on the floor.  Thankfully we have a weekly cleaner who performs a 4-hour miracle every Wednesday - she is brilliant, she even polishes my beloved stainless steel bird whistle kettle to a high shine!  Even though I take things very easy, and avoid lifting Tabitha too much, I have to ice my back a couple of times a day, and have been told not to exercise - even walks - by my GP, chiro and midwives.  So crazy ladder scrubbing adventures are pretty much out!

Finally, with the benefit of hindsight, I am much more prepared for, and realistic about, the challenges of having a newborn.  Sparkling light fittings may be nice, but in the early weeks - and months - of having a new baby, eating and sleeping are the real priorities.  So, with this in mind, I am trying to get as much rest as possible (napping when Tabitha does, nice long baths with Tabby in the afternoons etc) and I am also cooking up a storm.  

Now, this is perhaps where the crazy hormonal nesting has come into play...  I have purchased a 389 litre vertical freezer, and am in the process of filling it with (hopefully) 90 prepared meals.  That is, with each meal including enough food for The Daddy, myself and Tabitha.  So around 270 servings.  Yes, it's ambitious, but I've only had the freezer for a few weeks and I'm already half-way there!  I'm freezing a mixture of homemade heat-and-go meals (e.g. tuna and veggie pasta bake, sausage rolls with organic pork mince and grated veggies, paprika chicken, casseroles etc), as well as marinated meats (e.g. I've marinated dozens of chicken drumsticks, pork fillets etc), and finally some bought items, such as yummy frozen prawn dumplings, a few family sized pies and the like.  I have some friends and family contributing a few dishes as well, bless them.

Anyway, I will write a post with more detail about this epic cooking and freezing adventure soon - I'll try and take a photo once it's all done! - but basically, the aim is to have enough meals so that I won't have to cook for three whole months.  Once the baby is a few months old, things should have calmed down a little, and I'll probably be itching to get back into the kitchen.  But until then, we have plenty of nutritious, delicious meals to keep us going.

Ahh, who knows, I still have 3.5 weeks to go until the estimated due date (so probably somewhere between 1.5 - 5.5 weeks until he arrives), there is still time for a cleaning frenzy.  But to be honest, I'm pretty happy to skip it this time.  Although I might just toddle off and clean out the cupboard under the laundry sink for now...

State of the Baby Address

Since one of the main purposes of the blog is for me to record Tabitha's milestones, I thought that I might do a State of the Baby address, so to speak.  While she still IS the baby - soon she will be the Big Sister.  In between 2-6 weeks, in fact!

These observations are probably not of much interest to anyone else, but I know that I will forget so many of these little things, so I must record them.  I've scattered in a few quick iPhone snaps, too.

(Note - I thought I'd posted this but realised I hadn't, so the ages and milestones are for early October.  Hey, a lot changes in a few weeks at this age!)

Tabitha is nearly 28 months, or 2 years, 4 months old.  She weighs around 12.5kg, and I'm not sure how tall she is - quite tall!  People tend to think she is older than she is, perhaps because of her height, and she has a decent amount of (beautifully soft, corn-silky and delicious smelling)hair.

She can count to 12, after which she continues with a string of random numbers ("1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 10, 11, 12, 50, 17, 2...").

She has always been very good at her colours, knowing all the basics for a long time now, and these days she happily names even the more obscure colours like aqua, cream and silver.

Tabitha is now - touch wood - basically toilet trained.  I will post more about this later, but she has been wearing undies during all waking hours for nearly 3 weeks now, with only a rare accident.  She still wears a nappy or training pants for naps and overnight, but generally wakes up dry, or nearly dry.  I had no intentions of toilet training until Summer, or maybe even until she was closer to 3, but she asked to do her wees in the toilet and wear undies, so we went with it, and it was almost seamless.  I had been dreading toilet training, so I am incredibly grateful for this!

(31st Oct update - she's been in undies for well over a month now, including naps.  She still has the odd accident - if her naps stretch past a couple of hours, and also sort of 'half-wets' if she is too busy playing, particularly with a large group of kids, and doesn't realise the wee is coming until it's nearly too late.  She is completely unfussed by these ocassional accidents, as am I, which I am grateful for!)

Weaned from breastmilk a few days after she turned two (again, thankfully, a smooth and happy transition for both of us), she is still a great eater.  She certainly has her favourite foods (cheese, milk, yoghurt with mixed seeds and nuts, bananas, weetbix, frozen peas and corn, frozen blueberries, jaffles, chicken and rice - which could be anything from curry, satay, roast chicken, cacciatore, paprika chicken etc - and also any sort of fish, smoked salmon, teriyaki salmon, sushi, grilled fish etc, broccoli) and she has developed a slight sweet tooth, though she prefers homemade things like homemade ice cream, cookies and cake.  Funny monkey is a bit spoiled with the homemade cookies - she expressed surprise and mild suspicion recently because her cookie was 'cold'.  She is clearly used to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

Here is an afternoon snack - good old milk and hot choc chip cookies.  Being a toddler is generally a pretty sweet deal!

Her main sought-after treats are 'squeezy fruits', i.e. those organic fruit puree packs with the nozzle that lots of people use as 'first foods'.  She likes the blueberry/apple/banana one, and I save these for supermarket trips, to keep her happy in the trolley. 

At the moment, I'm working on her table manners, using forks properly, using knives to push her food onto the fork, less fingers.  I've never gone in for 'baby cutlery' with its bright colours and rubber ends, but I do really like the miniature sets of proper cutlery that she uses - Robert Welch makes some lovely ones, we have a couple of these sets.  I like the fact that they are properly proportioned, and fit nicely in her hands.  Also I've been focusing on her chewing and swallowing before talking or adding more food.  Sitting on her bottom and not wriggling around too much.  We're doing it very gently, as I have no desire to introduce stress or power struggles into mealtimes - a bit of leading by example, a bit of suggestion and reminder, and lots of acknowledgement and praise. 

Tabitha has actually become quite a pleasant meal companion - she pauses during her meal to smile at everyone at the table and ask, brightly, "How are your dinners everyone?!  My dinner is delicious!".  I realised a while ago that she often got cranky and bored during meals because she wasn't part of the fast-paced adult conversations.  So we make an effort to slow down our conversation pace, and include her in the chat - "how was your day Tabitha?  What did you do this morning?  Who did you see?  What vegetables did we buy at the market?" etc, and it seems to make a difference - she is happier to sit still and eat nicely for much longer.

Tabby likes her accessories - her two pairs of sunglasses, often worn indoors (which she likes to hide behind when she is feeling 'a bit shy'),  handbags and calico shopping bags, hair clips are sometimes happily worn but generally she prefers headbands or 'big pony tail, like Mummy!' or 'Pinktails'.  She sometimes resists any hair accessory, meaning her hair is completely in her face, leading my parents to constantly worry about her developing some sort of sight defect (I reckon she'll be okay!). 

Some 'pinktails' while enjoying a babycino and marshmallow:

More pinktails, this time as Dr Tabitha, working on her dolly patients.  She loves her medical kit, complete with 'stefascope', as she enjoys checking the baby in my belly, just like she watches the midwives do (in fact, she often gets out their doppler, squirts the gel on it, turns it on, and even finds the heartbeat of the baby all on her own!).  She also loves using the velcro cuff to check my 'blood pressures'.

Her favourite colour is silver, particularly for shoes, clothes and accessories, and she is very opinionated about which shoes she wears.  A pair of silver Mary Janes, which she calls 'dancing shoes', are the clear favourite, despite the fact they are really too small.  White and silver sandals come next in preference, then a pair of white sandals with metalic pink and green floral bits (Spanish, too beautiful, my favourite), then come any sort of other Mary Janes or sneakers.  Oh, and 'Pink Boots' which are her gumboots, and 'Fuzzy Boots' which are her ugg boots, are also liked.  She loves dresses - just over the past month, it has become an absolute battle to get her into jeans, and I suddenly understand why 3-6 year old girls everywhere seem to wear a dress with leggings and cardigan even in coolish weather.  It's because their poor parents can't manage to talk them into jeans or other sensible clothes!  So we have joined the dress-and-leggings set, and The Daddy even puts a dress over her PJs most mornings, at her request.

Here is Tabby in her Pink Boots, helping out in the garden (building phase):

And in Mummy's shoes, clomping around the house.  Just look at that hair - so soft and fluffy!  Reminds me of a dandelion:

Here are a few cute quotes and habits:

Tabitha likes to slip an extra 'L' into words containing an L sound, or sometimes just moves the place of the L.  So, we have pliget, slinget, glosling, slalad, flamilies, slilly and Slally (for piglet, singlet, gosling, salad, families, silly and Sally).

Speaking of Slilly - when she is very cross or frustrated (for example, I have suggested PJs or am sitting on the 'wrong chair', ahhh bless two year olds!), she cries out something along the lines of "noooo Mumma, you are being very slilly, go away!  You go sit over there!".  It's hard not to laugh at the most gorgeous, sweet little package of rage and frustration, but I do try and keep a straight face...

Each morning, Tabby brings me a plate of toast (to help counter the still-present morning sickness at 8 months pregnant).  She carries it very carefully, hands it to me, then perches on the side of the bed, holds her fingers together, cocks her head to the side, smiles very sweetly and says, "little bite?".  She then tries to gobble up my whole piece of toast - I manage to get about half of it in between 'little bites'!  Sometimes she brings me some museli and milk or weet bix instead, in which case she instructs me very seriously, "be very careful with your weet bix, mumma!  Careful of spilling."

She likes telling me stories, or reading me stories from a book.  She will say, "Do you want me to read you a story?  You say, 'yes please!'".  She then starts the story - "Once a time, there lived a..."

She has picked up some words and phrases from others, of course - I think the 'slilly' comes from The Daddy, she also says 'Awwwwwesome!' in a sort of exaggerated 'cool' voice, which I think comes from my little sister, and 'That's weird!' which comes from my mother, Moosie.

"I too scary!" for scared, e.g. yesterday, "Ohh there's a monster in the garden!  I'm too scary, take it away!"

"You can't check him!  No checking!  He's hiding" with her hands protectively over my belly, yesterday when the midwife wanted to have a quick feel of the baby.  She is incredibly attached to, and protective of, her baby brother already.  She loves kissing him, telling him a little story, hugging the bump.

"You got a big tummy like Grandpa Pig does?" said with a sweet smile last week, while we sat on the couch watching her favourite, Peppa Pig (yep, there is a bit of television going on most days, with late pregnancy exhaustion!)  I actually enjoy Peppa Pig enough to lie on the couch and have a cuddle and watch a few episodes, so it's a real blessing in the late afternoon sometimes.  I covet Grandpa and Granny Pigs' veggie garden.

The other day she had a scratch on her tummy and asked me to kiss it better.  When I did, she looked down, and exclaimed, "Oh no!  Kisses not working!  It still there!"

One of her favourite books is a simple alphabet and first words book - large, with lots and lots of pictures.  The other evening she picked up Fox in Socks and said, "ohhhh, fok in socks, this is a slilly book," with a sigh.  She then picked up her apple book, "ahh this is a good book!  You like the apple book mumma?!"

When asked why her mother's belly is so big, she will reply, "it's got a whole brother in there!"

We have a 'no cats on the bench or table' policy (hah!  yeah right!).  Tabitha is, along with most toddlers, an absolute stickler for rules and fairness.  She heavily polices this rule - at least once a day, we hear, "Oh no!!!  Pudding (or Possum) on the bench!  Cats are not allowed on the bench!"

"It's bee-ful!" is often exclaimed (clothing, mountains, cakes...), and "a-wahr you?" called out.  On our recent holiday, she discovered cornflakes, which she calls snowflakes.  Wise strategy, Tabitha, since the cuteness of this seemed to convince my parents (who took her to breakfast most mornings so The Daddy and I could sleep in a bit) to let her have cornflakes with her breakfast most mornings.  Another holiday breakfast favourite was "Bir-sha moose-lee" in a little glass with a spoon.

On holidays eating her bircher muesli - one glass down, another ready to go:

With my little sister - they have matching dresses!  Now that Q is 11, she is mostly too big to fit the children's ranges, so sadly, the days of matching dresses are short-lived:

Oh, back in September I wrote down what she ate in a fairly typical day, for my memory:

• Weetbix with milk and 'topping' which is what she calls the nut-seed mixture we sprinkle on all her cereal and yoghurt.
• Avocado on wholegrain toast
• Some nuts and a date
• Glass of milk
• Baked beans, corn and cheese jaffle on wholegrain bread
• A mandarin
• A bowl of natural yoghurt with 'topping'
• A homemade carrot and walnut muffin
• Smoked salmon omelet with broccoli

Maple Pecan Bundt Cake

I baked a quite delicious maple and pecan bunt cake from the Nigella 'Kitchen' book.  It was insanely good when warm (I sliced some pieces off the underside when I first turned it out, to make it sit flat) and still pretty yummy once it cooled!  It also looked so pretty - I do love a bunt-tin-icing-sugar combo, as it makes a cake look so much fancier with no extra effort.

The tin I used was a Nordic Ware Fleur-de-Lis tin. I would say that this cake would serve 8 - 16 depending on the size of the slices - because it looks best if each slice is a whole or half portion of each 'flower' segment.

Maple Pecan Bundt

Ingredients

For the maple pecan filling

75g plain flour

30g soft unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

150g pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

125ml maple syrup

For the cake

300g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

125g soft unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

250ml sour cream or creme fraiche

icing sugar for decoration

neutral oil (such as canola) for greasing

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Using the flavourless oil, grease the bundt tin, then leave upside down on a sheet of newspaper or paper towel to allow excess oil to drain out.

To make the filling, mix together the flour and bitter with a fork, then mix in the cinnamon, nuts and maple syrup to form a sticky, bumpy paste.

For the cake, sift the flour with the bicarb and baking powder into a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in a tablespoon of the flour mixture, then an egg, then another tablespoon of the flour mixture followed by the second egg.

Add the rest of the flour, beating as you do, then finally the sour cream or creme fraiche.  You will have a fairly firm cake batter.

Now spoon a bit more than half of the batter into the bundt pan.  Spread the mixture up the sides and centre funnel a bit, to create a sort of 'trough' circle - you don't want the filling leaking out to the sides of the tin.

Carefully dollop the maple filling into the trough of the cake batter, then cover with the remaining batter.  Smooth the top, and bake for around 40 minutes, although start checking from 30 minutes.

Once cooked, let the cake cool in its tin sitting on a wire rack for 15 minutes or so, then carefully loosen the edges with a small knife or spatula, including the middle funnel, and turn the cake out onto the rack.  When the cake has cooled, dust with icing sugar through a tea strainer.

I stored the cake on the bench on a platter under a glass cake dome for a couple of days, no problems.  Being a bundt, it is a relatively dry cake to begin with, so best served with tea or coffee.

 I feel like I don't have much to post, cooking and food related, because I'm in a strange sort of pregnancy rut where I feel compelled to cook the same (comforting) foods over and over again, at the moment.  So we're eating lots of rice pudding, roast chicken, cookies, blueberry muffins, marinated chicken dishes, lots of chicken and rice sort of things.

Soon, though, I will start cooking and freezing in preparation for the baby's arrival, so I can post some big-batch recipes.  And, you know, not too many more weeks until I have some photos of a beautiful new fresh baby to share!

Now if only we could come up with a name for the little boy...

This pregnancy, I'm loving...

Warning:  Don't bother reading this unless you are specifically interested in pregnancy products.  This post discusses such appealing things as snoring, pain and weight gain, so consider yourself warned...  It's somewhere between an extended list of great products and a bit of a whinge!

I'm having quite a different pregnancy this time, compared to when I was 'in the pudding club' with Tabitha (have you heard that phrase before?  I've picked it up from a Brit friend, and I am loving it!)

With Tabitha, I worked for the first two trimesters, spending my days in 10cm heels, travelling interstate, leading 2-hour presentations to rooms full of people and generally being quite anxious about the baby - I had no idea what to expect, with none of my friends having babies, and not being the sort of girl who fussed over newborns before having one of my own.

I also managed to gain around 25kg, had very *difficult* skin (what glow?!) and had some moderate sciatica pain, carpel tunnel syndrome and reflux in the final trimester.

This pregnancy, I'm much more active (toddler-wrangling) yet far more laid-back, without pressures of paid employment or the need to be presentable at a 8am interstate function.  I've been a lot sicker, yes, however I've also managed to eat more sensibly overall, and have so far put on around 9kg (at 31 weeks) which is more on target for a healthy pregnancy weight gain.  My skin is actually quite good, which everyone tells me is because I am carrying a boy (apparently girls 'suck out your beauty' or something, according to the Old Wives).

No carpel tunnel yet (which I may be able to avoid, since it is often associated with the excessive weight gain) but I've had terrible back, pelvic and sciatic pain since about 14 weeks, certainly exacerbated if not caused by carrying around 12kg of Tabitha much of the time!  I'm now seeing a chiropractor every fortnight, which has made a world of difference.

What else has helped with the back and hip pain?  When I remember, I wear these SRC Pregnancy Shorts which (as well as being incredibly alluring) are pretty good for hip and sciatic pain.  Initially, I wore them nearly every day and night for a couple of weeks, and it made a real difference.  Now I'm seeing the chiropractor regularly, I haven't needed to wear them as much, although I have bought the SRC Recovery Shorts to wear after giving birth, to help repair the abdominal muscles.

Another product I want to plug, which has helped enormously with back, pelvis and leg pain, is the Gel Pro Floor Mat.  These sent-from-heaven-via-the-USA kitchen floor mats are 'anti-fatigue' with a '100 per cent revolutionary gel core'.  I first saw them on the Martha Stewart Show (they use them in the MS test kitchens) and after trying in vain to find a similar product in Australia, I bit the bullet and paid to have one sent from the US.  The company itself doesn't ship to Australia, but I used the parcel forwarding service Shipito.com which I found to have the best rates.  If you are interested in one (and you should be, if you spend lots of time on your feet in the kitchen!) the GelPro company was really helpful at providing the exact shipping dimensions and weight, so I could get an accurate shipping quote from Shipito.  I purchased a fairly large mat (from their clearance section - I found the prettiest pale blue ostrich print one to match my kitchen!) and it cost around $100 to send it, within 5 days, to Australia.  It has been money well spent - everyone who stands on it sighs in bliss, and even if I'm not cooking, I often wander into the kitchen to just stand on it, because it is so comfy!

Speaking of comfort - this pregnancy, the reflux kicked in much earlier, and from around 22 weeks, I was waking up all night from the burning.  So gross.  Last pregnancy, I managed to sort of prop myself up on several pillows, and sleep in a semi-sitting position for the last few weeks when it was really bad, but I found that really damaged my back, because I was lying on all sorts of strange angles.  So this time, because it started so early, I shelled out for a proper 'contoured angled sleeping wedge' from Theraputic Pillow International.  It has been heavenly, and I can't believe I managed without it last time - not only does it completely fix the reflux overnight (so far) but it also allows me to sleep on my back (which is generally a no-no in later pregnancy) because I'm elevated instead of flat.  I then tuck another pillow under my knees, and I am comfy and cosy.  The Daddy has been terribly good about the whole thing - the un-sexy pillow arrangement - and assures me it's not as ridiculous as it looks.  Plus, he tells me that my (normally deafening) pregnancy snoring is almost cured with the wedge pillow.  So points all round!  After the baby arrives, it will be useful turned on its end as a slightly reclining sit-up pillow for breastfeeding in bed too, I think.

And now that I've mentioned snoring - I know I'm not the only pregnant woman to suffer from terrible congestion.  I have a lot of allergies, normally kept under control by allergy medication which is not allowed during pregnancy.  Added to this, pregnancy causes your sinus tissue to swell and the body to produce more fluid and mucous (jeepers, this is so gross, I hope only other pregnant and/or sympathetic people are reading!).  This is all a recipe for major congestion - the sort that stops you sleeping, and has you blowing your nose every minute or two during the day.  So my best solution - which is working well so far - is a combination of Rhinocort nasal spray (which is categorised as completely safe for pregnancy in the US, and 'most likely' safe for pregnancy in Australia, particularly after the first trimester) and I also use a steam vapouriser overnight, every night.  This has made a huge difference.

Moving well away from mucous and pain - I can hear sighs of relief - and onto nicer things like body lotions and clothes...

Last pregnancy, I diligently coated myself in Bio Oil and Tinderbox Pregnancy Belly Rub oil, in the hope of avoiding stretch marks.  Now, that's all well and good, except that the two biggest factors in stretch marks are genetics and amount of weight gained.  Considering I have that sort of dry, pale skin which is prone to them, and I packed on loads of weight, I was pretty lucky, but I certainly gained a decent amount of marks.  They quickly faded away to pale, barely visible marks, and they don't bother me much at all, but I have accepted that all the oils in the world can't prevent them (unfortunately, this is also backed up by research).  This time, I am still using oils, but just because I like the smell and they make (tight, dry) pregnancy belly skin feel nice.  So I am still using the Tinderbox oil (smells incredible) and I am also using Dr Bronner's Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil, which isn't too messy at all, sinks in quickly, and makes my whole body smell (and taste, apparently) just like a coconut rough chocolate!  So there you go.

For maternity clothing this time, I pretty much needed to start again!  The clothes from last time were mostly too big, or else from the wrong season (June baby vs November baby).  This time, I was in maternity clothes a bit earlier, too, since second and subsequent pregnancies seem to 'pop' earlier.  I managed to stay in my pre-pregnancy jeans until around 24 weeks (very low cut, so they sat under the bump) but had to wear maternity tops nearly from the start.  Being tall, I find that close-fitting clothes are generally best (otherwise I look like a ship in full sail) so I bought a whole lot of great pieces from Isabella Oliver Maternity, including this brilliant dress in black, which I wear to death and get lots of great comments on, as well as a few of these tops in different colours, and a couple of other layering and wrap style tops.  I have a couple of great pairs of maternity jeans (I like these ones) and lots of beautiful, colourful Hermes scarves, over the top of all the basic black tops and dresses, mean I never feel dull or boring even though I am wearing the same outfits over and over again.  The quality of the fabric and tailoring in the Isabella Oliver line is really impressive, and I can definitely see myself continuing to wear the dress and tops long after the baby arrives, next winter.

Moving into the warmer weather, I have fallen in love with More of Me Maternity (also available from Queen Bee Maternity in Australia), a US label which produces really gorgeous, high-quality pieces.  I am loving wearing the Blake T-shirt Dress, the Avery Maxi Dress, the Maternichic Dress, the Beatrix Dress and the Agnes Dress, in particular.  Yep, basically my whole Spring/Summer wardrobe is from the one place - but seriously, the clothes are so well cut, and I look forward to passing them onto whichever of my friends is next pregnant in the warmer months!

Now my next two big sartorial challenges - I have two weddings to go to, one about a week BEFORE the baby is due, and one about 2-3 weeks AFTER the baby is due.  I don't know which one is more terrifying to dress for - the week prior, I will be so enormous and swollen that nothing will look good, or the wedding so soon after - well, it's during that hard time when you still look about 6-months pregnant, and need to have easy breastfeeding access in whatever you wear.  So, I have no idea what I will wear to either event!