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Top 5 Things I Hate About Pregnancy

Let’s be honest, pregnancy is incredible, but there are parts that are just not enjoyable. It’s been a while since I was pregnant with Lamb, and I’m slowly coming across the things I just don’t enjoy.

This post is meant in jest, by no means am I complaining, I love being pregnant (for most of the time anyway) and I know how lucky I am to be going through a second healthy pregnancy (and hopefully straightforward birth).

These are just a handful of things that get on my nerves.

  1. Heart burn. Oh wow the heart burn. I can’t actually remember how early I suffered with it in my first pregnancy, but it started this time around 20 weeks, maybe earlier. I’m swigging on Gaviscon (which I hate and makes me gag) and find myself coughing through the pain. I’m keeping my fingers crossed I don’t suffer with it as badly as I did with Lamb. It was so bad last time I lost the feeling in the top of my bump because the heat from my stomach was so close it burnt 24 hours a day. It wasn’t until Lamb was a few weeks old that the feeling came back!
  2. Putting on socks. Well, I’d completely forgot about the issues with socks. I’m 23 weeks tomorrow and I’ve already had to ask the hubby to help me on a number of occasions. Really? Just over half way and I’m already struggling!
  3. People touching my bump. Fair enough my nan can touch my bump as much as she wants, but if I barely know you, or only see you on the odd occasion the chances are I don’t want my personal space invaded. Especially as there’s not much of a bump and you certainly won’t be able to feel anything. Why not say hello, have a chat, spend some time with me, then ask if you can feel the baby. Just saying.
  4. Reduced caffeine intake. I’ve pretty much been drinking caffeine since I can remember. Coffee, tea, diet coke. I love it all. I can happily cope with the recommended guidelines of one coffee a day, but some days (when I’m at home alone with a toddler) I dream of drinking 4 or 5 cups to get me through the day. Water just doesn’t cut it.
  5. Hard boiled eggs. I just want a poached egg! Eggs Benedict will be the first thing I eat after baby is born. I will head to my local Frankie and Bennies and order a large cappuccino and runny eggs! There’s nothing worse than going out for breakfast and asking for your eggs to be ‘well done’. You know the chef hates it. I hate it. We all hate it.

As you can see this post is just a bit of fun. Of course, I can cope with all of the above. I get a beautiful baby at the end of it!

What are your most hated parts of being pregnant? These are the first 5 that come to mind, I’m sure there will be more!

Ax

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H&M Baby Boy Wishlist

Ok, I’ve been at it again. Online ‘window’ shopping! I can’t help it. I’m finally feeling excited about having a newborn and can’t stop myself looking at potential outfits for my second baby boy.

Here’s a quick H&M wishlist. I love the baby boy selection available at the moment, the toddler stuff however, not so good.

hmcol1hmcol2 hmcol3

I’m going to try my best not to buy any of these items for baby boy just yet. However I will be seriously disappointed if they sell out before I grab them! I love the cream/green cactus print leggings, so cute!

The banana onesie is amazing, but maybe something like that is better for when he’s a little older?

What do you think of my selection?

You can take a look at what I’ve already bought from the new collections here.

Ax

P.S look out for more wish lists coming soon! 😉

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B&M vs Tesco – How much did I save?

Yesterday I popped into my local B&M Bargains (which happens to be 2 mins down the road). I initially went in to look for baskets and storage for the boys bedroom but ended up doing a mini grocery shop – typical.

As I was walking around I was spotting things I needed so thought I might as well grab it while I could. The things I needed were mainly branded stuff, which got me thinking. I wonder how much I’ll save by buying branded products in B&M rather than somewhere like Tesco?

As I was shopping I could roughly work out if the items I was buying were cheaper, things that I buy regularly I know the prices of, but it wasn’t until I got home and compared prices that I really knew how much I had saved.

So how did I compare prices?

Simple. I often shop online with Tesco, so I searched for the items I had purchased in B&M and wrote down the price that Tesco sell at. If I couldn’t find the exact item, I found an equivalent. There were a couple of items that I couldn’t compare, so I have deducted these from the total I paid in B&M and won’t compare them.

IMG_7120 IMG_7121

What did I buy?

  • Toilet Roll /9 Pack – B&M = £1.99 Tesco £2
  • DR Pepper 2 ltr – B&M £1.99 (50% extra so I got 3 ltr) Tesco (2 ltr) £1.85
  • Dishwasher Rinse Aid 500ml (non branded) – B&M £0.99 Tesco 400ml £1.25
  • Comfort Pure 750ml – B&M £1.29 Tesco £2
  • Purina Adult Cat Food 800g – B&M £3.49 Tesco £5
  • Felix Cat Food 12x 100g – B&M £3.29 Tesco £4.50
  • Nescafe Azera 60g – B&M £1.99 Tesco £3.25
  • Kinder Surprise Egg – B&M £0.79 Tesco £0.80
  • Brownie Mix 284g – B&M £0.99 Tesco £1.10
  • Minions Biscuit Mix – B&M £0.79 Tesco (Minion Cupcake Mix) £1.99
  • Floor Wipes 30’s (non branded) – B&M £0.99 Tesco 15’s (own brand) £1 (2 packets = £2)
  • Corsodyl Mouthwash Mint 300ml – B&M £3.49 Tesco £5.19
  • HP Sauce 425g – B&M £1.00 Tesco £1.70
  • Fruit Shoot 4x 200ml – B&M £0.99 Tesco £1.89
  • John West Tuna 4x 145g – B&M £2.50 Tesco £5
  • Heinz Ketchup 570g – B&M £1.25 Tesco £2
  • Persil Non Bio Liquid 25 washes – B&M £3.99 Tesco £7
  • Whole Milk 1 ltr – B&M £0.69 Tesco £0.75
  • Semi-Skimmed Milk 1 ltr – B&M £0.69 Tesco £0.75
  • Warburtons Wholemeal Bread 800g – B&M £1.25 Tesco £1.00

B&M TOTAL = £34.44

Tesco TOTAL = £51.02

Total Saved = £16.58

I was blown away by how much money I saved by buying groceries in B&M Bargains. There are a handful of branded items that I always buy and managed to find in B&M yesterday. These are Purina Cat Food (I have a diva for a cat who only wants the best), Corsodyl Mouthwash for the hubby who suffers with gum disease and Nescafe Azera coffee. With these 3 items alone I saved £4.47 by shopping in B&M!

Why don’t you challenge yourself and do your shopping in B&M? There’s also Home Bargains which is very similar. Obviously you can’t buy everything you need, but if you’re saving the amount I did it’s worth the trip isn’t it?

Ax

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Baby Boy Haul – New Season

I’ve been gradually buying bits for baby boy and I seemed to have accumulated a lovely collection of clothes. So of course it’s time to share a baby boy haul with you. This first haul is of the full priced items I’ve bought, so if you like something you’ll be able to grab it.

As you can see from the below photos I’ve got a love for monochrome and graphic prints. Those who know me well won’t be surprised at what I’ve bought. I will have a few colourful bits in his wardrobe, but this is what I’m really drawn to at the moment. (Look out for my baby boy sale haul coming soon which has a couple of brightly coloured baby grows from Little Bird.)

H&M has always been one of my favourite places to buy baby clothes. Their 0-2 years range is always so lovely, but unfortunately they seem to lack in the toddler department, so Lamb doesn’t have much from there any more. I wish they went up to age 3 or 4 in the baby section!

Next have really stepped up their game this season and have some gorgeous monochrome prints. I’m particularly in love with the milk bottles! I normally like to shop in the sale, especially for sleepsuits as you need quite a few, but I’ve got a feeling this range will sell out fast, so if you want it buy it!

Finally I’ve bought some bits from Zara. They were mainly in the sale but I did get the below leggings pull price – I couldn’t resist! They were actually from the girls section but will suit a baby boy. I highly recommend checking out both baby sections (girls and boys) as you’ll find some of their leggings are definitely unisex.

next sleepsuitsnexthmleg

  1. Milk Bottle & Striped sleepsuits (2 pack)- £12 from Next
  2. Egg & Spoon print sleepsuits (2 pack) – £12 from Next
  3. Little Bro sleep suit – £7 from Next
  4. Milk bottle outfit (includes long sleeve top, leggings, hat and socks) – £13 from Next
  5. Giraffe print outfit (includes long sleeve vest, leggings and hat) – £6.99 from H&M
  6. No Time For Sleep long sleeve vest – £2.99 from H&M
  7. Animal print long sleeve vest – £2.99 from H&M
  8. Giraffe print sweatshirt – £6.99 from H&M
  9. Aztec print joggers – £6.99 from H&M
  10. Racoon print joggers – £6.99 from H&M
  11. Penguin print leggings – £7.99 from Zara

What do you think of my baby boy haul? Let me know if you find anything else you’ll think I like!

Ax

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Top 5 Family Attractions Near Essex

daysoutpinAs a family we love taking Lamb for days out, and with baby number 2 on the way I’m sure we will be doing it even more when there’s 2 boys to let loose. Living in Essex I’ve discovered we have some fab attractions, and being so close to Suffolk there’s a few amazing ones there too.

I’ve decided to share with you our top 5 family attractions close to us. 4 are in Essex, one is in Suffolk, but really close to where we live.

  1. First on the list is, of course, Colchester Zoo. Hubby and I have gold cards which means we have unlimited entry for a year. Even if you only visit 3 times you save money so it’s well worth buying. We live extremely close to the zoo so you will find us there most weeks. They have plenty of places to sit and eat, a good number of parks/play areas and an indoor soft play. We often head to the zoo on a rainy day just to throw the kids in the ball pit as it’s completely free (because we have gold cards).
  2. Next up is Marsh Farm. I’ve only been here once with Lamb and my mother-in-law and I absolutely loved it. It’s bigger than I thought and has so much for the kids to do. Lamb’s favourite was driving the mini tractors. We live around an hour away so don’t have annual passes, but it’s worth thinking about if you live close by.
  3. Across the road from Marsh Farm is Tropical Wings. I’ve never actually visited here, but my mother-in-law has taken Lamb a few times (she babysits every Monday) and apparently he loves it. His favourite thing to do is watch the bird show. He loves owls (thanks to The Gruffalo) so loves watching them fly around. He’s so good with animals and doesn’t get scared when he’s near them. He will happily feed the goats and stroke the rabbits.
  4. We haven’t actually visited here, but Old Macdonalds Farm is 4th on my list. It’s somewhere we really want to take Lamb but wanted to wait until he was a little older so he can go on the rides etc. Take a look at their website, it looks so good!
  5. Finally is my Suffolk choice which is Jimmy’s Farm. Such a lovely day out for the whole family. Nature trails, petting zoo and butterfly sanctuary you will be sure to have a fab day out. Jimmy also puts on many event throughout the year which are well worth a visit. Although I’ve heard they can get ridiculously busy!

What are your favourite family attractions?

Ax

 

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