My Labour Fears

Labour *should* be happening any day now - I've been counting down the days for the entirety of the final trimester, and you'd think I was gearing up for Christmas at the rate I've wanted this to come round. Reality is now beginning to hit though, and whilst I've hated pregnancy, and I'm ready to meet little Baby J - I am not ready for labour. I suppose you probably never are 'ready' as such, but I've now read what must be close to hundreds of birth stories, I've googled every possible outcome, and I've watched many a labour video on youtube (only the nice, edited, not gruesome, vlog style ones - even I can't bring myself to face One Born Every Minute until after delivery) and if anything I feel worse off than I did before. My labour fears may be erratic, but they are definitely there.

1. What If It Lasts for 37 hours?

Secret Saviours: No More Stretch Marks?

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored, but I was gifted the items contained in it. Every opinion given is entirely my own, and I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't believe in it.

Stretch marks are a widely accepted part of pregnancy, generally they are fairly common and can simply be an unfortunate result of child-bearing for nine months. Your growing a little person inside of you - it's fairly reasonable to assume that your skin will have to stretch to accommodate this. I personally had been really worried about getting stretch marks during my pregnancy, only because I had suffered them fairly badly in my early teens. After going on the contraceptive pill to try and combat my acne, my body responded with an unexpected pair of boobs in a very short space of time, and with them some stretch marks to keep them company. These did fade over time, but not without trying every cream and oil in the book, so with my skin being obviously prone to stretch marks, I was open to trying anything I could to prevent them during pregnancy.

Simply put, stretch marks are left by tearing just below the surface of the skin, and different factors can leave you more prone to them: being a young mum, family history, big babies or excessive weight gain to name but a few... Given the fact I'm young, my personal history, and how quickly I'd put on weight in the last trimester, it's safe to say I was prone.

I HATE Being Pregnant

I won't even bother to apologise for the blatancy of the title of this post. I truly do hate being pregnant, and I have hated it for pretty much the entirety. I've been reluctant to post my opinion on this, as I feel it could be a bit of a sensitive subject for some, but I hope anyone reading can take it with a pinch of salt. I've seen one too many a comment alluding to those complaining about pregnancy and how it can be insensitive to those who cannot have children of their own, or to those who have experienced miscarriages, and I don't want to overstep boundaries here, but my inability to enjoy my pregnancy does not mean I'm any less grateful for the life it will deliver at the end. I'm extremely thankful to be pregnant and what it will mean for my life, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it, and I should, as should everyone else, be aloud to voice that without judgement.

I have had an easy pregnancy, I'm under no false allusion here. I didn't hate the time I was pregnant because of my morning sickness, or my tiredness, or my cravings. I didn't hate the time because of swollen feet, which I couldn't see by the end anyway, or my bad skin and greasy hair. The symptoms I could deal with, and I'd happily do those all over again. It was the inability to feel like myself for the past four months that has really got to me. My third trimester has been nothing short of an absolute nightmare, if only in the mental sense, rather than the physical.

Desenio Prints: Am I Scandinavian Yet?

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored, but I was gifted the items contained in it. I would however order these off of my own back again, and every opinion given is entirely my own.

Let me be the very first to say here - I am no interior designer by any stretch of the imagination. I can barely work Pinterest never mind have a room based on the aesthetic. Any time I set out to 'decorate' any room in this house, my lavish plans are swiftly abandoned in favour of whatever I find on the day in Ikea. My latest bedroom upheaval was no different. I'd gone for a strict minimal black and cream, no accents, no nothing, aiming originally for the typical Pinterest Scandinavian look. Unfortunately, I bailed after having bought all of the furniture/bedding/basic necessities, and was left with a haphazard unfinished looking bedroom. When Desenio offered to send over some prints, I all but jumped at the chance to pull my pitiful room out of the gutter, and it gave me a fresh kick to finally sort it out, just in time for the cosy Autumn nights.

My October Goals

I've seen this post floating around the blogging world a lot in the past few days, and figured I'd jump on the band-wagon as a way to keep myself accountable. I've always been a big goal setter as it is, wether it be university related previously, fitness, weight loss, financial. You name it, I'll have made a check-list for it. I love the idea of new beginnings, and a new month signifies just that for me. October is going to be an odd month for me, and without a doubt one that will be hard to set goals for. I'm due with Baby J on the 14th, but it goes without saying he could arrive anytime this month, so I've made sure these goals take into account that.

A True Pregnancy Pamper Night

My idea of pampering has completely changed from the pre-pregnancy days: let's just make that clear from the get go. Long gone are the days when a relaxing night of pampering consisted of painting my toenails, glasses of wine and head-to-toe moisturising. Nowadays - i.e. 38 weeks pregnant - pampering is a lot more of a simple affair, and there a few very necessary adaptations that have been made. I'm no beauty blogger - I don't own the newest of face creams and smelly bits and bobs, pre-pregnancy Boots own brand bubble bath suited me fine, and this far in to a pregnancy I am no different. My idea of pampering is definitely not limited to a beauty regime, in fact, it doesn't involve much of it at all, here's my less than luxurious pregnancy pamper tips.

- Embrace Take-Away and Bad TV

I don't want to get ready to go out, I don't want to be surrounded by people, I don't want to have to wait on my food and let's face it, chances are I'll be 'sleepy-time' tired by the time dessert even rolls around. Pregnancy is the perfect excuse to order take-away and sit in, no one can judge you for it. I'm all for making sure baby gets the proper nutrition, but at the same time, I need my good ole' Nandos once in a while (/multiple times a week). I've also used this time to throw myself back into bad reality TV - X Factor, Ex On the Beach, The Great British Bake Off - you name it I watch it now.. what else am I going to do with my Saturday night?

8 Ways To Kick-Start Labour Naturally

Pregnancy is a long stint - almost an entire year spent as an oven, albeit the reward at the end is well worth it, but no matter how good the reward, time doesn't miraculously speed up. In fact, towards the end I swear it slows down. The third trimester feels like time has been at a stand-still, and by 38 weeks I'd try anything to get this baby out and moving. A quick google search returned thousands upon thousands of natural remedies to coax baby out - 99% of which I can guarantee won't work. In fact, all of them probably won't work, but at this point in time, I'm ready to try anything to make sure I don't go over due date. I'll take everyone's advice and rest up and enjoy the last few days I'll ever have on my own, but towards the end of this week Operation Baby commences. Here's the plan of action.