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Pregnancy wear:blessing or nightmare?

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Hey, I managed to stick my little girl in the bath for a wee while and and here I am, trying to blog about pregnancy wear. I will not finish this post while she’s there but bear with me…

So far, I have bought maternity wear worth around £200. It consists of three t-shirts, one vest, three pairs of jeans, two hoodies, six long/medium length-sleeved tops and three bras.

I bought my first pregnancy jeans this time while I was around three months pregnant. As a second-time around mum, I knew what lay ahead and wanted to be prepared. I also thought I was being very clever and ordered them in the summer, while the main shops and retailers had their sales on. After shopping around-virtually-for a while, I decided on a pair of progressive maternity jeans from Vertbaudet (yeah, the posh shop that advertises kiddy wear on Nick Junior).  I chose them in my pre-pregnancy size(as the maternity wear retailers recommend) and hoped for a really good pair of jeans, practical and adjustable which will see me throughout the pregnancy due to the elastic bands they come with. Unfortunately, size 40 fitted me just a tad too tightly and as I grew in belly size the bands proved uncomfortable and baby kicked at them annoyingly. They have ended up in my post-pregnancy pile for now as I hope that I will be able to use them without the zipped-on maternity bands after baby makes an appearance. A bit annoying and a not-so-good a deal from Vertbaudet…

My second pair of jeans is my favourite and comes from New Look. Actually, I could be their maternity wear ambassador as at the moment 90% of my maternity wear is from them. I love this pair because they are soft to touch, comfortable and their elastic band is elasticated enough without digging into my belly but strong enough to hold them up my bum…

My favourite item at the moment is one of my New Look hoodies. I love it because it’s cottony soft, cosy and long enough to cover my back and keep me warm. I foresee it being over worn this winter.

My least favourite items at the moment are…my bras. As any pregnant mum, I have grown in size in this respect but finding the right size and fit has proved a nightmare so far. I have initially attempted to guess my growing size by buying Primark wireless bras. BIG mistake as I discovered Primark doesn’t quite stick to the classic measurements and even a 38C didn’t do me due to manufacturing glitches. There is also the issue of my growing uterus that makes breathing difficult and wearing broad-backed bras intolerable. I am collecting a Mothercare bra order from my local shop tomorrow. Please, wish me luck, I truly need a couple of supportive bras as this is getting a bit ridiculous now…

So, my advice for any pregnant mummy out there is:

  • fancy shop items usually look good on the website and in theory but their sizes can be smaller that the usual and you may end up with stuff you may use for a very short time.
  • buy a couple of tops in two different sizes if you like the design. You are bound to eventually grow into them and you may not find the next size up when you need them.
  • do yourself a favour and get yourself measured for a good, supportive bra from the fourth month(even sooner, if you feel the need). Mothercare offers bra fitting services and a good choice of maternity bras.
  • don’t throw out your worn out maternity items. I use mine in the house as they are more comfortable than the usual wear.

Disclaimer: I wasn’t paid nor was offered products to try on by the retailers mentioned above. Writing reviews is something I would like to do more often and eventually get paid for it but this was my first go at it, hope you enjoyed it!

Bump at 20 weeks. I was wearing a maternity top from New Look and my pre-pregnancy jeans

Bump at 20 weeks. I was wearing a maternity top from New Look and my pre-pregnancy jeans

The moment of truth

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So it looks like I have been living a lie. Not because I chose to but because I believed the reality was different.

When I first became pregnant with Emma I experienced a LOT of mood changes. Normal, right? Weeeell, so everybody told me so I chose to believe my hormones were dictating my behaviour and were responsible for me becoming a witch almost overnight. A big, bad witch, as Emma would have described me if she had met me back then.

Then, I had Emma and….baby reflux on my hands. So I went from big, bad witch to a wreck of tears, raw emotions and dysfunctionality. In the sense that I couldn’t cope with being up 24/7, coping with a hysterical baby and all the other household responsibilities and had to call my mum to the rescue. Normal, right? Weeeell, so did all my away-from-home friends told me, over a cosy cup of tea, with their mums/sisters/mothers-in-law semi-permanently installed in their homes.

But then, time passed and the symptoms didn’t lift. I blamed it on my hypothyroid (and none of the doctors I saw actually contradicted me). I blamed it on my mum NOT being able to move in with us for long stretches of time, like my friends’ mums dully did.

Then I got pregnant again. I actually knew it before the blue line on the pregnancy test told me so. I thought, okay, thyroid out of control: check. Mood swings: check. Extreme tiredness: check. Oh, goody, I am pregnant again!

Yesterday we did a marathon series of doctor visits that changed my reality. The first doctor we saw, an expert endocrinologist diagnosed me with Hashimoto auto-immune disease but pronounced the condition mild and reversible. He also said something that tilted by world slightly: my mood swings couldn’t be blamed on my thyroid levels because actually they were fairly stable.

The second doctor we saw, a psychiatrist, put my world right again. Sort of. She spoke of things that I hadn’t heard before like antenatal depression. In retrospect, she diagnosed me with post-natal depression after I had Emma and recommended a follow-up with my G.P. in Ireland, to keep my antenatal depression under control

I was left feeling numb with all these revelations. The things I held responsible for my lack of joy, tiredness and crabbiness were actually not thyroid-related but a moderate pregnancy-related depression no-one diagnosed and that didn’t get treated. It could have saved me so much pain and anguish, had it been diagnosed correctly.

On a positive note, now I know the TRUTH. The good news is that at the moment I am considered functional so I don’t require medication. I will need to find a doctor who knows his/her stuff back in Ireland and who will be able to keep an eye on me and any possible changes.

I am a bundle of emotions regarding this diagnosis. I fight the stigma mental conditions receive. I am angry with all the health visitors and midwives that visited me after I had Emma and told me “it was all normal.” I am ashamed and feel a lot of guilt I put my family through so much. I am scared I will never feel “normal” again, that I will not be able to enjoy my second baby either. I am relieved that at least now I know what I am fighting against.

I would appreciate your comments, especially if you have been through something similar. I also need to find a support group that will keep me sane during the next few months. If you know of any,let me know.

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Our good news

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Well, first of all, hello, my blog friends. I have been stranded in Greece for the past 7 weeks with no internet connection and means to keep in touch with you.

But I hope you forgive me especially since I have some good news.

After two years of coaxing, reasoning, threatening, arguing, pleading and praying hubby finally decided to give me the best present a girl ever got: a baby!!!

Yeap, I am 15 weeks pregnant, hormonal as it can be, struggling with my thyroid issues but over the moon. My Emma will not be an only child, thank goodness! She will have a mate to play with, practice her negotiating skills with, fight with and love in a selfless way. Someone who will bring balance, not only to her egocentric little world but to our family life as well. It’s equals numbers now, as well, as the scan showed clearly it will be a boy so the hormonal levels will hopefully even out in our household :-).

So my health challenge dash weight loss is suspended for obvious reasons but I will get back to it once baby is born in January. I intend to do a pregnant-lady-health-challenge once we go back to Ireland in a couple of weeks (honestly, did you really think I could ditch the Greek sweets and yummy home cooking just to keep abreast with my blog 😉 ??

Here is a picture of our Bubba. We haven’t decided on names yet. We were, the three of us, certain that it’s gonna be another girl so the names we had chosen had to go. Emma and hubby are debating possible appellatives. We’ll let you know, once we agree on one…

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My curious George little monkey

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Emma loves watching TV and DVDs when she needs to wind down and as we’ll be away the whole summer I have started to think about DVDs we could bring with us. I have already bought a mini iPad and started to download educational apps that are meant to keep her busy during our travels and then during our long stay in Greece.

So when I saw this competition launched by Tots 100 that involves winning a bundle of curious George DVDs I knew this would be perfect for us. Emma loves George and can’t have enough of his clever adventures and silly fun.

So here is a picture taken last Saturday of Emma and daddy enjoying a cheeky ice-cream in the rain. Oh well, I assume it tasted even better, despite the rain, by the look on their faces 🙂

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More knowledge enhancement on Romanian traditions

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Romanian ladies do have a habit of complicating their lives in order to create beautiful(if non-perennial) consumables at Easter.

Egg dying takes a whole new dimension in villages where people take the time to create edible masterpieces. I found the process explained here in English. Hope you enjoy watching it. It makes me proud to be Romanian!!