Yesterday marked 24 weeks or 6 months into pregnancy. It seems to have gone very quickly so far! I am sure March and my due date will be here before I know it. I don’t know if I want time to speed up so we can meet the baby or slow down to give us time to get everything sorted out!
As you will have seen from my previous post, my bump is definitely there now! You can see my 24 week bumpie below. I don’t know if I’ll have to change the bumpies from monthly to fortnightly as I grow more quickly, we shall see! Oh, the delightful comment Sam made when he took this this morning was, with a full-on smirk on his face I might add, was “You just look like you have a fat belly in that photo”. Great, thanks very much(!).

We have done some more preparation in the last week or so. I bought some non-toxic paint to give the second-hand cot and changing table a face-lift. We are going for yellow and white but I am not sure what kind of stripes to paint yet – I will upload some before and after photos when we get round to painting them in a couple of weeks’ time. Sam is very good at painting so I am hoping he will help me! I did Google safe paint for baby furniture as I was worried about getting anything that was unsuitable. I did find some websites that sell organic paint that boasted at being the best-suited for a baby’s room and I was tempted to buy it – my over thinking brain had gone into overtime worrying about getting the wrong type of paint – but the £54 price tag changed my mind pretty quickly! I went to B&Q instead and asked for some advice and the paint lady there said any Satin or Eggshell paint that is Quick Dry is water-based and, therefore, child-safe. Gloss has the oils in it that make it unsuitable so avoid that for cots etc.I also ordered a big box of Water Wipes from Amazon (£18 for 12 packs/720 wipes) that are a good alternative to water and cotton wool balls as they are 99.9% water so suitable from birth. Sam also cleared out the rest of the shower unit (plasterboard and lots of wood and mess) from our other spare room to make it usable again and he also treated all of our carpets with flea spray thanks to our three cats! The spray lasts for 12 months and we thought it was sensible to get it done long before the baby arrives as the previous owners of the house had pets too.

In an effort to make sure I am getting enough dairy and fruit every day I have been looking for a good alternative to flavoured yogurts as they are so full of sugar. Add those yoghurt to my increase in chocolate consumption (I am working on that, I promise…!) and I am getting into risky sugar ground every day. I have started making my own milkshakes with fresh strawberries, raspberries, half a banana (I hate eating them but I can stand them in a milkshake), a couple of tablespoons of plain Greek style yoghurt and topped up with milk. I blend everything together and have it at breakfast – brilliant instead of a sugar-filled orange juice – or after work as a snack. It is so quick and easy and tastes delicious. I have some Chia seeds in the cupboard, a “superfood” full of nutrients apparently, that I think I’ll add tomorrow.