WEEK 39

Week 39 and still blogging.  Glen has a son who was five weeks early and is convinced that he will always have early babies – doesn’t seem so here.  A very strange time waiting in limbo for the most important meeting of my life.

 

Nothing to be said on Dr Gowri’s perineum stretch until after the birth…..  I did however also take Glen in to see her with me for another appointment.  I would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to try for Natural Birthing – we started by working Debbie, one of Dr Gowris fabulous Jeyarani Method practitioners.  Debbie taught Glen some basic reflexology to try on me in labour and told him all about the benefits of using the water bath as a pain relief.  Debbie then continued to do work on my feet whilst Dr Gowri and Glen held around my stomach and back and did a birthing visualisation.  We now have her visualisation preparation for birthing CD which we are supposed to do every day  - we have done it a couple of times but we are both fast asleep half way through which I guess is not all a bad thing.

 

Trying to keep away from the office and prepare for mamadom – bag all packed for the hospital with newborn essentials including his leaving hospital look – a beautiful Marie Chantal baby grow with angel wings on, lots of Arnica 200c and Gowris actual birthing CD which I am saving for the ‘ouch’ day.  We have also done our birthing playlist which we are adding to daily. I’ve taken to baking wheat free cupcakes smothered in multi-coloured icing – an attempt at recognising my inner child and simply passing the time in a stress free manner.  In fact the messy election situation has helped with ‘taking the mind off’.  I felt sympathy for Samantha Cameron supporting her husband night and day in v high shoes with her increasing baby belly. 

 

One of my girlfriends gave me a pregnancy massage voucher at Space NK – I so wish I knew how good these were before and I would have been going throughout the pregnancy. They are the only place that I have heard of that have special beds for the massage with a hole were the baby bump fits neatly into.  The masseuse I had, Adrian (interesting that they have a male pregnancy masseuse), was spectacularly good – I would highly recommend this to anyone – however good a massage feels normally, it is twice as good at this stage of pregnancy – for me I particularly love any warm touch on my lower back which is so much tighter with the increased weight on the front.

 

Still attending Lolly Stirks weekly yoga class; it was odd this Monday to be the next one due – everyone looking at you in anticipation as to when it will be them next.  She taught us a bit about breathing after the peak of a contraction and how your man should be in the breaks in between – basically tell you he loves you A LOT – so right.

 

Not sure whether I am counting hours, days or weeks – will be back next week if the little man still has not made an appearance……….

WEEK 35

Just entered week 35 with a thump – managed to catch some kind of bug or food poisoning and went to hospital to be put on a drip with de-hydration. Out this morning feeling week but relieved – the little one is a tough cookie and appears to have been unaffected by the whole incident.

 

BABY SHOWER

 

Despite that set back, I have up until now been continuing to busy myself with his more imminent arrival. His bedroom is now largely done and his drawers are filled with the extravagant and adorable presents from my beautiful baby shower.

UNWRAPPING 

What a perfect afternoon – all of my gorgeous girlfriends around enjoying a sunny afternoon of cupcakes, champagne, tea and smoked salmon sandwiches. My little boy is the ultimate unborn designer baby ‘All the gear and no idea’ – A couple of stunning Ralph Lauren looks, a beautiful box of Marie Chantel goodies including priceless baby grows with wings on the back, his own superman outfit (with the cape), Burberrys high tops, Baby red Converse (the baby shoes are too sweet – I keep going into his room and squishing them), a box of Bonpoint and the list goes on and on (lets just hope he is boy and the doctors didn’t get it wrong – there is a lot of blue!), there were then toys for him – his Baby Einstein Gym (all the mothers in the room in unison explained that this is your sanity for the babys first 8 months), teddys, books etc. There were also some pampering treats for mamma – fantastic now I am starting to nest a bit more – and the growing bump needs lots of attention in an attempt to guard of the dreaded stretch marks.

WONDERFUL GIFTS

Still going to Dr Gowri – in fact I am now in a kind of dreaded anticipation of my Week 36 appointment. This is the one at which she (famously) teaches you about the perineum oiling. We all laugh about it but it does make sense. On my last appointment she worked on me with two other therapists – ultimate indulgence – I really did feel a new mama over the next few days after. She said that the baby is head down – I have since felt him repeatedly belting me towards the ribs. Hopefully he will stay that way.

It was interesting, in Lolly Stirks yoga class she was saying that there is a tribe in Africa where the women stride every day with the large water bowls and other containers on their heads – they do this throughout their pregnancies too (no maternity leave there) and subsequently they do not even know about Breach births – she said that they have never been seen there. I am trying to keep up the walking – luckily Spring seems to have shown its happy face now so it is a beautiful time to go striding through the daffodils in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Growing and the dress options have become more and more limited and my skin has become more conscious and sensitive to unnatural materials. The Slacks & Co are really my constant favourites – it seems that Danii Minogue and Claudia Schiffer agree – we saw a wonderful picture of Dannii Minogue looking super chic in her white New Yorks and Claudia wrote the most charming thank you note for hers. Tara is doing a sale of Slacks & Co this Friday and Saturday in collaboration with a company called Vintage Baby – I will be sending invitations to all of those Mummys and Mummys to be (of which there seem to be quite a few at the moment).

WEEK 31

Apologies – it has been a few weeks since my last post.  Busy selling period for AW10 collections in both London and Paris.  Interesting how few department stores or fantastic multi-brand websites recognise the importance of a maternity section – there are either, what can at best be described as frumpy, independent maternity shops or you ‘make do’ (Claudia Schiffer was quoted as saying that she just buys clothes a size or two bigger when she is pregnant).  I am not sure where that leaves you with the trousers though.

 

SLACKS & CO. AW 2010 Collection

Net-a-Porter.com are rumoured to be concentrating a lot of their efforts on a wedding shop but I wish that someone would come in and drag some of the appropriate styles already bought for the main shop on to a specific maternity section and then they would only need to buy in addition one or two brands of maternity jean and Slacks & Co.  Wow, this would have made my pregnancy a lot easier.  I read yesterday that Net-a-Porter have had a bid from Richemont Group to buy them out (a whopping £350 million …….) – maybe they can implement the change.  Lets face it women will always be getting pregnant and now that they are leaving it later and later in theory as these women often have a career they often have the disposable income plus they/we still need to ‘look the part’ to go to the office.

Alex and I at the Merci Boutique in Paris

 

On another note we have been working on some fresh press for Slacks & Co too –  this has included a great write up onDailyCandy.com (kids) which prompted the a barrage of calls to Taras office – it is fantastic what an amazing customer reaction this website has.  Dannii Minogue is obsessed about her Slacks & Co – we sent her a couple of pairs and she ordered two more pairs – she was so excited about them and is apparently living in them – pap pics hopefully to follow.

 

Week 31 and coming to the end of the selling season I am beginning to nestle in.  I have been working on the little ones bedroom – another tricky area.  Too babyish for a boy and you have to change it in no time – pretty pink for girls lasts for years.  I have decided on a red cable knit trim below the picture rail from a trimmings shop, a white wash of paint over everything and I had the best Roman blind made in a blue denim with white stars stitched on.  I then bid on and bought at Lots Road Auction a set of eight beautiful framed Mickey Mouse drawings.  My other fantastic recent find is Zara home – I found some exquisite baskets and towels for his room – so Chic, so Spanish.

 

For the baby ‘bits and pieces’ I have been swotting up on what I need and what I don’t.  Very helpfully Lolly Stirk organised for one of the owners of babyconcierge.com to come and give us a talk and a q&a at one of the yoga classes – this was exceptionally helpful for me.  Glen is already fairly savvy on all of this having done it with his first son three and a half years ago but products change and develop and customer opinions alter.  Baby Concierge were so much more helpful than the Saturday staff on the floor in the John Lewis baby department.

 

Two months still to go until the official birth date and my Germanic organisation is on  determined display.  This weekend we took a trip out to Bicester Village – amongst other fabulous shops they have a wonderful Bonpoint sale shop there and the little growing one already has his ‘first appearance’ look covered – a super chic natural coloured cashmere trousers and roundneck set with matching booties – discounted but still adult prices on dolly size clothes.

 

I have also planned my Baby Shower for Good Friday.  The invitations were beautifully made at Mount St Printers and Stationers – v simple with a navy blue ribbon at the top.  Fredette, who owns the shop is already excitedly working on some unique baby announcement ideas – she has such fabulously chic taste and the quality of their work is consistently perfect.

 

So nesting in and the bump is growing visibly daily now. I am currently loving and indulging in this ‘countdown’ time despite the leg cramps and constant kicking and punching from inside.  He does keep me awake at night but I do find it beautifully comforting – there really is a little spirit there – seemingly a restless one – just like his Daddy.

WEEK 26

Apparently the biggest growth spurt is often between weeks 25 to 27 – this is where I am starting to love and indulge in my pregnancy.  I went for breakfast at the Wolseley a few days ago and as I went to sit down they asked if I would like a couple of cushions – I looked around to see if this was a privilege offered to all of the customers – but no, finally a stranger had considered me worthy of a special treatment.

 

This is a bizarre sensation – a little one is growing in me but I feel strangely detached from the pregnancy.  I am basically continuing with my life as it was – OK so no more raw fish and un-pasteurised cheese – a few more early nights and no twists and lying on my tummy in yoga.  Otherwise I am full of a renewed energy (the nausea has subsided), and work and social commitments continue.  I have read that men can become particularly confused at this point in their wife or girlfriends pregnancy as they feel that you have control over something that they don’t – if only there was something we could do beyond letting them feel the kicks to sense that they are more included – in truth we are strangely uninvolved too – our nurturing instinct for the baby has begun without knowing quite who they are.

 

I have now started Lolly Stirks famous Pregnancy Yoga Classes in Notting Hill.  Lolly is the legendary ‘yoga for pregnancy’ guru who really does give women a chance to tune into their pregnancy and the prospect of the birth.  The class starts with half an hour of chat, herbal tea and biscuits.  There are people up to 39 weeks pregnant in there which is interesting as I realised that we often don’t see women at this stage of their pregnancy unless they are close friends or family as they have stopped work and going out has become something of a mission – little girls with these enormous bumps.  When there were 14 women in the class I became acutely aware that there were actually 28 of us – 14 little characters that we are yet to meet.

 

 

 

 

In my office wearing my Slacks & Co. Milan's

 

The other big change is obviously the daily ‘get dressed’ challenge.  We are now in the full stream of fashion sales appointments for AW10 collections and my bump is visibly bigger every day.  What a relief it was when Tara delivered the ‘Milans’ to me in my size – they are a Godsend to any pregnant woman – deliciously comfortable natural fabric with the sassiest slim fit and sharp design.  I went for press appointments at Vogue and at Tatler last week and editors at both commented on my great trousers before noticing the bump.  It is high time Slacks & Co did these for non-maternity too as I will struggle to part with this essential addition to my wardrobe after the birth.

 

Week 23

Just back from 3 weeks in South Africa; pregnancy dressing was easy for me there as I live in floaty summer dresses and low cut mini skirts when the sun shines even if I am not pregnant. 

 

My loose silk printed Calypso dress

My bump also seems to have been relatively late showing – it has just really popped out and caught up with my somewhat inconvenient ‘E’ cup breasts in the last 2 weeks. 

 

My low cut denim mini 

One of the great discoveries that I did love on my trip was the belly button stickers that Alex, who works at Lainey Fashion, found for me in Space NK to wear with my party dresses. 

Glen and I off to the races in Cape Town - I bought a perfect Miu Miu dress for it - tight skirt and loose on the bump.

I find my protruding belly button quite cute but it seems not everyone is so amused by it; I went to see my girlfriend Olivia who is the Beauty Director of Tatler – she said ‘Urgh I can’t look at your belly button it makes me feel sick’ – in the next breath she asked if I needed a birthing partner – mmm not sure how her queasiness would handle that….

Back in London, 1 degree, and pregnancy dressing is a little more complicated.  I did buy some super skinny Top Shop maternity jeans – they are a disaster, as the legs are so tight the elastic waistband falls right down – they look great standing still but no stairs or bending down (knees bent of course).  I am back in my low cut boyfriend jeans with lose tops and when I need to look more presentable my Slacks & Co Milans (from Taras SS10 collection) – these are the ones we are also sending to the fellow Mummys in waiting Claudia Schiffer and Dannii Minogue.

I came to the office to try on the new Slacks & Co collection for AW10 – these are absolutely essential for a perfect capsule pregnancy wardrobe.  I am mad about the ‘Rome’ black trousers with the gold studs on the side – the PERFECT fitting trouser – high at the back and low at the front – the soft waistband resting comfortably on my little boy (yes it's a boy!).

 

 

SLACKS & CO's Rome side studded skinny trouser

I am also now going to live in the ‘Berlin’ biker trouser – winter trousers from office to evening.  It is so weird this must be the only maternity brand that does not think that a mama has to lose all sense of style as soon as her bread starts to bake.

On Monday I went to see Dr Gowri Motha who is Londons Natural Birthing Guru – the humble, kind, mother figure with an extensive wealth of knowledge and experience to inspire all women.  When she stripped me down to start the pancreas and heart cleansing treatments she was extremely concerned about my wired bra; she said that there is a tribe of women in Africa who had never had any breast cancers until they started to wear metal under-wired bras.  There is apparently also other evidence to prove that there is a link between the wearing of under-wired bras and breast cancer – we must therefore be a lot more careful particularly when our bodies are so vulnerable in pregnancy.

No cravings at the moment but a big healthy appetite and its lunch time now – back soon with more observations.