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Its that time of my pregnancy to start getting ready for the inevitable… but first there’s one important thing that needs to be done. P-A-R-T-Y! I’m not talking going out on the town getting smashed and throwing up in a kebab shop at 3am. I’m talking about friends games, lots of baby talk and food!

So id heard about bump painting before and thought it was slightly strange but now I’m pregnant I want to experience everything so I managed to find this lady on Facebook who paints pregnant ladies bumps! so I thought why the hell not? So a few hours before the shower she came along to my house and painted me up. For anyone who knows me i have a slight obsession with micky mouse! I have so many baby grows, clothes ,and toys for my baby all in micky mouse! so you guessed it… i just had to have micky mouse painted on my bump! The woman was so experienced she painted it all freehand and even added some glitter just for that extra little touch. and i absolutely loved it! you can see the photo at the end of this blog post.

After being branded on my belly with micky mouse i got ready and headed down to the party with all my friends and family waiting to see that the room had been very cleverly decorated with blue micky mouse decorations! I absolutely loved it! we chatted and done a quiz then attacked the buffet and just generally talked babies and labour and had lots of photos taken. i had a great time catching up with some old friends.

I didn’t actually realise until I got home how many presents we had been given for the baby! my living room currently looks like Toys R Us! A see of gift bags and presents covered my floor we had everything from clothes to bath products to nappies and even a Pandora charm! Totally spoilt and so grateful to each and every person who came and gave us gifts!

a Special thank you goes out to my Mum, Mel, Harriet, Haley, Charlotte and Rhys for all the time effort and money put into the afternoon.

After sorting through all the pressies I finally got round to putting everything away in its own place and putting all baby’s new clothes away in drawers leaving his cot free and ready for his long awaited arrival! everything feels so real now!

3 weeks and counting…

Z

xxx

so… The time has come, shits about to get real and I have to pack my hospital bag! it only seems like yesterday I was peeing on a little stick, and now I’m only 3 weeks away from due date! I’ve been putting off even thinking about the birth, time in hospital and packing my bag. I need to man up and accept this is happening… the baby is coming and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.


So, what do I actually need to pack in my hospital bag? After extensive research and by research I mean having a quick gander online I have discovered Instead of packing for a couple of nights stay in hospital I am actually packing for a weeks holiday in Tenerife.. ( I WISH! ) Who knew you had to basically hire a lorry to transport all your stuff to the hospital?


After compiling a list of what I thought I needed I headed off to the shops in search of the bits and pieces I needed to pack. Most of the stuff I’ve already got at home such as nighties ( very sexy) pyjamas and t shirts etc. All the obvious stuff. So strolling round asda with my trolley as I’m to lazy to carry a basket! Anyway there’s a whole aisle dedicated to babies and all the gumph you need. Now I got recommended by someone that I would need some big maternity pads as apparently you bleed like Niagara falls after the birth and judging by the huge maternity pads I bought they arnt lying! You could sail across the Atlantic on these humongous pads that apparently will fit into my knickers I will let you know how that goes…
so I threw  a couple packs of them in my trolley. Conveniently On the same shelf I spotted some maternity pants that I thought looked pretty handy… until I picked up the box for a look and realised they are paper pants yes that’s right PAPER PANTS!! now I know labouring a child isn’t the most glorifying thing in the world but I am not going to be subjected to covering my woman’s bits in paper bloody pants!! ( excuse the pun) That’s not me being a snob far from it…  I am taking a trip to Primark later in the week to get a pack of new pants.


Supposedly I will need breast pads once your body starts producing milk you start to leak. urgh so many things to think about! I have looked everywhere and can I find any breast pads? can I buggery… so I’ve bought a big pack of cotton wool pads hoping they will do the job, what can go wrong? Apart from all the clothes and pads for different body parts I’ve been recommended other things to take these include- books, magazines, sweets, iPad, water, phone charger and a hand held fan. Then there’s the things you might miss out like toothpaste tooth brush etc. I’ve been told chewing gum is a good idea!

Now of Corse your partner/birthing partner in this case my baby daddy Mr M will be joining me on the wonderful birthing experience, don’t forget they could be at the hospital for hours so they are going to need some supplies to! We have a little bag packed for the daddy to be and of Corse this includes the essentials such as chocolate biscuits and bottles of coke, that should keep him going… we have thrown in a spare pair of clean clothes just for good measure.


 thanks to everyone who has recommended me what to pack here is a list of what I’ve packed for myself…

Very sexy old lady nighties x2
shorts x3
t shirts x3
new pants x6
flip flops
hand held fan
cotton wool pads
maternity pads
chewing gum
Vaseline
water
sweets
iPad
books
phone charger
medication
toothpaste
toothbrush
toiletries



And for the baby I have packed…

baby grows x4
baby hats x2
scratch mits x4
nappies
wipes
nappy cream
aptamil starter pack (milk)
muslin cloths x3
socks x 3
blanket
teddy bear


and there you have it… packed and ready to dash off whenever the pregnancy gods decide its time!



Z





xxx

Sodding anxiety!!! always turns up when you least expect it and really don’t want it! I don’t like to say I’m a sufferer of anxiety because I believe we all have anxiety during stressful and demanding times of our lives and why wouldn’t we? Its perfectly normal to stress and worry.

That’s right as I’m approaching week 35 ( 5 weeks to go! ) I am a very proud mum with a fat tum! This last few weeks I have done a lot of growing and according to my pregnancy app baby is almost at his last stage of growing and will soon be the size of a watermelon! A BLOODY WATERMELON!

So for those of you who don’t know I work as a chef and baker, I like to think of myself more as a baker because that’s what I do best. Ive been baking for years and absolutely love it! I Spent 3 years at catering college where I really came out of my shell and learnt how to cook like a pro. I’ve had numerous jobs over the years all in kitchens from washing up to making sandwiches to baking and doing fine dining food. I started years ago making celebration cakes for birthdays weddings ect. ( if you want to see my work then search What zoe bakes on facebook) I loved doing these cakes for people some of them took me hours but I loved every second, sadly having a full time job and other commitments meant I had to stop doing them for a while, my plan is to start this up again once on maternity leave so watch this space!

After this I got a job in a garden center and after a while I was put into the bakery YAY! My dream come true baking for a living! the amount of cakes I would smash out of that bakery was unreal. hundreds of scones a week numerous cakes and traybakes, I was loving life! I currently work in a small hotel in my local village, here I make fresh scones cakes desserts bread you name it I make it. I have abit of a reputation for making weird flavours of cakes, however they always seem to sell! I was lucky enough a few years ago to feature on the nightly show with Gordon Ramsay who is my absolute favourite chef! He likes my cake really despite what he said haha!


Watch what he thought of my cake here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z44CqpALi0


For those of you who haven’t watched the video I made a cucumber cake for Gordon to try (I didn’t actually make it I sent in my recipe and his chefs made it mine looks better!). Ive made and sold many slices of this at work and its actually quite nice and really refreshing. So I thought id share one of my favourite recipies with you to try! Give it a go and see what you think. its not as crazy as it sounds honest!



Cucumber and elderflower cake
makes 1 cake

you need-

1 cucumber (deseeded)
230g butter
300g sugar
4 eggs
300g self raising flour
200g icing sugar
1 bottle of elderflower cordial

1.) Preheat the oven to 160oc

2.) Deseed the cucumber and blend up to make a sort of cucumber juice,

3.) Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy

4.) Slowely add the egg whilst continigung to beat

5.) Once all the egg is mixed in add the flour and beat in.

6.) Slowley add the cucumber juice.

spread between 2 round cake pans and bake on 160 for approx. 30 min


For the filling make a buttercream out of 100g of the icing sugar and some butter this is for the middle of the cake.

To top the cake mix the remaining icing sugar and a few splashes of elderflower cordial and spread over the top of the cake. If you are feeling really adventurous you can make some cucumber crisps by thinly slicing some cucumber dusting with icing sugar and leave in the oven on a really low temperature to dry out.

and there you have it! one cucumber cake


Enjoy !!





Z




xxx

This last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster. I’ve suddenly developed bad pains in my hips during the evening when I lay down in bed. And by bad pains I mean stabbing aches in both my hips and no matter what position I lay in. I’m up all night trying to roll over and find a comfy spot but its like the world hates me and wants me to suffer because nothing works. During the day its absolutely fine its literary just when I lay down which is super annoying because I love my sleep! Anyway I mentioned it to my midwife who all she really recommended was sleeping with a pillow between my legs which kind of helps.


Anyway I decided enough was enough last night and I decided to take action. For my birthday back in January my mum bought me this super large 4 foot pregnancy pillow its basically a giant horseshoe pillow that you lay down the middle and its supposed to support everything. Its kind of helpful but difficult to sleep in. So last night I collected every cushion pillow and blanket we had in the house and I made a little nest right in the middle of my bed and good lord did that help support my hips and back. instead of being in pain all night I only woke up about twice in pain which is a massive improvement! So I’ve put together some bits of information tips and advice on what to do if you experience hip pain during pregnancy.

What is hip pain in pregnancy and what are the causes?

Pain in the hips pelvis and lower back normally develops in the third trimester of pregnancy and is caused by a pregnancy hormone called relaxin. This hormone causes the ligiments in the hips to soften to prepare for labour which results in aches and pains when pressure is applied to the hips.

How can I help reduce the pain in my hips ?

I have had lots of advice from other people who have been through the same thing all telling me similar to the midwife and that’s to sleep with a pillow between my legs. whilst this kind of helps it doesn’t take the pain completely away. The only real thing that’s worked for me is making my nest of cushions and blankets and finding the right position to sleep in.

physiotherapy and a chiropractor

I am not speaking from experience here as I haven’t used either of these but I have been recommended by friends to use these. To be honest the cost of going to a chiropractor or physiotherapy is way out of my price range whilst saving for a baby and to be honest ive managed to keep my pain under control a little bit.

Swimming

Swimming is a proven way to help with hip pain because under water you are weightless as you swim this acts as kind of a message on your joints. ( proper annoying because I cancelled my swim membership last week)



I think the most important thing is to not put to much strain on your body and find a sleeping position that works for you.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE. if you have sever pain and are not managing please seek medical advice. Happy sleeping xx


Z




xxx

Its pretty obvious that our bodies are going to change throughout pregnancy you’d have to be an idiot to think everything will stay the same. So I thought id put together a little something for pregnant ladies or future pregnant ladies to read and to get prepared for.

What a stupid question… Am I really pregnant? A belly the size of the moon and waddling round like a retarded duck kind of gives it away really!  But every now and again I actually forget that I am pregnant. I realise how dumb this sounds but bare with me I have good reasoning!

So this Friday just gone I officially entered my 8th month of pregnancy! its been a long old road since I first decided I wanted to be a mummy. I used to panic all the time that I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant and that I would never be a mother and just grow old and be lonely
and childless forever.

So as well as my new adventure into motherhood my job as a chef and just generally being me I have another love in my life…. RUNNING! Some of you may be rolling your eyes right now and sniggering thinking she doesn’t have the body for a runner how the hell can she possibly run? For the uneducated people thinking this let me tell you us fat girls can run to! It doesn’t take the body on an athlete to get your running shoes on and pound the pavements getting those miles in. I used to be embarrassed at the fact I ran when I am the size I am I only ever used to run in the dark because I was so scared all the passing cars would be laughing at me! Now? I’m a proud runner and give zero fucks about what anyone thinks about me, after 3 half marathons and 1 10k I have earnt the right to feel proud of myself.


My running story started way back in 2015 when I decided I wanted to give up the fags and get fit. I wont lie it was bloody hard to start with! but once I got into the swing of things and started losing weight it was the best feeling in the world! I didn’t run far but I got out there most nights and put the hard work in eventually loosing about 2 stone. One summer about 3 years ago I got the extremely sad news that one of my best friends from school had very sadly taken her own life. Even though I hadn’t seen her or spoken in a while I was just in shock and numb. The night of her funeral I obviously got very drunk and thought how can I do something positive to raise money in her memory? so I very drunkenly signed up for Edinburgh half marathon!


Holy shit… now I actually need to be serious about my running and get a training plan! I worked hard for months as well as fundraising for my chosen charity The mental health foundation. I worked my little (big) arse off for months and finally got up to 8 miles before I had to stop this was a huge achievement for me! The day of the half marathon I was shaking like a shitting dog I cant even tell you how nervous I was I just wanted to finish the race for my friend. It was long it was hard and gruelling but after 3.5 hours I finally crossed that finish line and burst into tears … I DONE IT! so proud of myself and my total fundraising was just over £1,000.


The following September I ran a 10k up in Scotland and in October I ran the oxford half marathon this time I ran for Oxfordshire mind which is also a mental health charity. see a theme here? From then on I didn’t run so much and ended up putting all the weight back on. After trying for a baby for 6 months last year I decided I needed to start running again and quit smoking (again) so I did… I worked even harder this time with a lot of long runs I managed 9 miles this time before I had to stop. So I thought as I’m not getting pregnant I may aswel enter oxford half again. race day is always so nerve-racking !but once again the crowd got me through and I broke my current record! I managed the first 10 miles before I had to stop and walk for a second. Once again I crossed that finish line with so much pride and a new medal to add to my collection.

1 week later… BAM IM PREGNANT!! What are the chances? I had in fact run a half marathon whilst 4 weeks pregnant. I’m such a badass 😉 so oxford half marathon October 2018 was in fact the last time I ran, against advice from the hospital I decided to give up running whilst I had a baby on board its not worth the risk to me as id had a few falls in the past.


For now I am really excited to start running again once the little one is here and get fit once again and maybe even enter a race who knows! For now my fundraising total stands at just over £3,000 all for various mental health charities my friend may not be here anymore but I will continue to fundraise in her memory.


Rip Kirsty



Z




xxx