Growing a Human: The Second Trimester

So I'm 26 weeks now, 6 months pregnant and entering my third trimester! This means it's time to relay my experience of the second trimester to you all...

At the very beginning of my second trimester I got to see my little one for the first time! I still felt really tiny, so seeing something that had the form of an actual baby was crazy! He was kicking and jumping about like crazy which was really reassuring to see. 

Symptom-wise... my sickness eased off completely but I was still exhausted for a while. The worst problem I had was with my ankles which caused me agonising pain for a few weeks. There's a few reasons which could have caused this and I won't bore you with the details, just know that it was super painful!

Near the beginning of my second trimester I also fainted. In public. In 'Home Bargains' of all places. Having never fainted before and being unaware that pregnancy makes you faint, this shook me up quite a bit! I haven't fainted since, but have got that feeling like I'm about to lose consciousness and had to sit down. It only ever seems to happen when I'm on my own too which is never fun! 

As the weeks went on it all got easier and easier and my bump was becoming more and more visible. I had to come out to work with the news (didn't do this until I was 20 weeks gone!) and, surprisingly, everyone took it okay! I then came out to the rest of my friends / world / internet with the news and it was a HUGE weight of my shoulders. 

I then had my second scan at 20 weeks where we found out we were having a boy. I think pregnancy emotions for the better of me during this one because I felt so in love with the little fella' I just wanted to cry!

Since then we've been allowing ourselves to buy bits and pieces and generally start making plans for his arrival! 

Here's a snap of the belly at 3 months and 6 months to give you an idea of how I've grown during the second trimester - A LOT. 

I'm eating pretty much non-stop.. but don't have any cravings really. I've always been more of a vegetable person and have found myself wanting fruit all the time, as well as craving chicken nuggets more often than I would like... but haven't found myself unable to get through the day without eating something!

For a while tea / coffee made me feel sick which was pretty annoying considering how sleepy I was, but for the past few weeks I've been having the odd cup of tea and feeling great, so I'm glad that's subsided. 

Emotionally, still wild. I'm completely up and down all the time and if I start crying, I will not stop crying for a good few hours. Luckily, this isn't too often!

I'm so excited to meet my little man and can't wait to pop him out. I'm just hoping the next couple of month's fly by!

I will have more posts to follow with updates on the nursery / baby hauls!

Lyd 

xxx

Illamasqua 'Hollow' Cream Pigment

Hello everybody!

Apologies for the lack of posting over the past week. Life had got the better of me...

I wanted to post a quick review of the much raved about Illamasqua 'Hollow' pigment. This pigment has seen a lot of praise from beauty bloggers on the paler side of the spectrum and as someone with the pastiest of white skins I was dying to get my hands on it and try it out. I bought it directly from Illamasqua here and it costs £17.50 for 8 grams.

I've been using this for a couple of weeks now and have mixed feelings about it...

I really like the colour of this, its the perfect match for the pale skinned and doesn't show signs of 'orangey-ness'. I find it quite hard to work with though, it's pretty tough in the pan and whether I apply with my finger or brush (I apply this with my Real Techniques Contour Brush) it takes a while to blend it into my skin. I did find this quite surprising as I've been using it in conjunction with my Illamasqua cream blush which I mentioned in my January fave's which is an absolute dream to get on!

I tried this on my eyelids as a base today to see how it faired in the cream eyeshadow arena and had similar results. Nice colour, too hard to work with. I still much prefer the Maybelline Colour Tattoos!

I will continue to use this and, in general, it's a good product but query whether it's worth the price.

If any of you know of any other products which are a bit easier to work with / easier on the purse, please let me know!

Lyd

xxx

January 2014 Beauty Favourites

So it's monthly favourites time and time to share what I've been loving throughout January. This month feels like it's dragged so much, I'm too eager for the beginning of this year to pass quickly so I can get my little boy out! 

Asda 'Little Angels' Large Cotton Wool Pads 

First up are these cotton wool pads from Asda which were a total bargain at £1.47 a pack. They've made for babies but I've been using them with my toner etc. and they are super soft. There's 100 in a pack so they last for ages too!

Aussie 'Miracle Hair Insurance' Leave in Conditioner

I used to use this all the time in my teenage years and when I saw it on offer had to pick it up for nostalgia's sake! When I spray this through my hair it is SO much more managable and my brush just glides straight through. I think some people might find the scent off-putting. I think it's Eucalyptus-ey, but I don't mind it. Super cheap and it does the job so it get's a thumbs up from me!

The Body Shop Tea Tree Shower Gel

Okay so this made be TMI, but pregnancy has made my skin on my chest and back a little awkward. I've never had greasy skin there before but since being pregnant my skin has gotten greasy and often a little spotty. I've been using this wash there when I shower which is made for the treatment of blemish prone skin and I must say the benefits are noticable! I'm not too keen on the scent of tea tree but, as I know it's doing a job, I can deal with it!

The Body Shop Satsuma Beautifying Oil

Another Body Shop favourite here and HOLY CRAP this smells incredible! I bought the fragrance oil for this and burned it for weeks on end in my house and when it came round to getting an oil for my belly, I knew I had to go for this scent again! If you haven't smelt the Satsuma range yet, seriously go try it out! I've been using this every day(ish) on my belly to treat my stretching skin. My mother didn't get stretch marks and as they are hereditary I don't think I will, however I can feel the skin getting damaged and want to keep it supple. To be honest, I think any oil would be fine... but why not get one that just smells so damn good?

The Body Shop 'Deep Sleep' Pillow and Body Mist

Okay, didn't realise there were so many products from the Body Shop! This is the last one, I promise. I bought this after hearing people rave about the This Works pillow spray. This is a fraction of the price at around £10 and considering the Body Shop have deals on all the time I think I picked this up for maybe half the price. I actually don't have much trouble getting to sleep but my partner does and I have a tendency to wake up a lot during the night, so I picked this up thinking it would help us out a bit! To be honest, I'm not sure if it does aid sleep in any way but it smells really lovely - surprisingly cistrusy - and I think the ritual of spraying this before head hits pillow is just lovely and very relaxing!

Clinique High Impact Mascara

This was actually a Christmas gift from my Dad which came as a bit of a surprise! I'd never tried it before and usually I don't splash out too much on mascara's but this one really is great. It's super black and applies to my lashes really easily. It doesn't flake off during the day - but then it's really easy to get off in the evening! Can't fault this at all - I really want to try teaming it with the bottom lash mascara...

Elemis Fresh Skin Loving Lips Lip Balm

I can't remember where I got this but I definitely didn't buy it - maybe a beauty box? My lips have been really problematic this month and I've been slathering on the lip balm at any given opportunity. I found this in my stash and tried it out and really like it. It's a little minty which I love, and sort of melts into the lips making them feel really smoothed over. I haven't seen this in shops since and probably won't re-purchase as I have my eyes on the Korres ones next, however this has done the world of good for my lips the past few weeks and has nearly all gone!

L'occitane Creme Radieusse Hydration Creme

Another surprising male Christmas purchase, this time by my boyfriend! My skin has been a bit of a nightmare in general during pregnancy and it's definitely more sensitive. This is a natural face creme and has that 'herby' scent about it, which I don't mind. I've been using this at night as its a little thick for day use. It sinks in quickly and leaves my skin feeling funky fresh. My only issue with this is the pot - it's such a weird shape... and I don't like dipping my fingers into creams because I always end up with under-the-nail cream residue!

Illamasqua Cream Blush in 'Dixie'

Finally, I have been really enjoying this blush the past few weeks. I got it on sale from the Illamasqua website for around 7 pounds - bargain! I was never fond of cream blushers because I found them tricky to apply but this is super blendable. I've been putting this on using my ELF small stippling brush and the colour is lovely. I hate anything too pink, but this is a red / coral toned pink which I love!

So there's everything for this month! 

What have you guys been enjoying this month?

Lyd

xxx

Weekly Round-up #1

I am in a bit of a 'feeling-sorry-for-myself' state at the moment, so I do apologise if this post appears a little depressing.

I wanted to start putting weekly round-ups on here following my not-so-interesting life. I figured it would be nice for me to look back on in time!

So this week I was 23 weeks pregnant, 24 weeks today. My little man has been super active this week and a visit to my midwife yesterday confirmed he has been upside down and a little to the side which made a lot of sense as the majority of kicks this week have been close to my right ribs! This also explains why walking anywhere makes me really need to pee! (TMI?) I think my iron stores have taken a turn for the worse as I have been exhausted this week. Last night I fell asleep at 8pm - wild Friday, eh? I've also been waking up from nightmares pretty much every single night. Not too pleased with my night-time brain activity at the moment! The worst is when you wake up, realise its a nightmare and fall asleep straight back in to it, what's that about?!

If you didn't know, I am still learning to drive. It's taking me bloody ages. I had a lesson on Tuesday which I think indicated my driving is up to test standard, just a bit more practice on manoeuvres and I'll be there (what an awkward word manoeuvres is...) Life without a car is becoming increasingly difficult so I can't wait to pass and get behind the wheel! My partner doesn't drive either, so looks like I'll be driving myself to the hospital then!

I picked up a few bits and pieces after work on Wednesday because I'm running out of clothes that fit...
Saw this bargain dress in Primark and had to get it even if I couldn't wear it until after the birth! Can still squeeze in at the moment though - cheeky bump selfie alert!

Had my Welsh lesson on Thursday night. I always find these mildly awkward as I'm the youngest there by quite a way and everyone else already has children in Welsh school / nursery. This is something I struggle to get to grips with... I may be sending my little guy to Welsh speaking nursery's and eventually school as, generally, they are much better in Cardiff than the English speaking ones. I couldn't bare to send him off without him hearing any Welsh beforehand and want to speak to him in both Welsh and English whilst he's still a little'n. So I've started to learn as early as possible really. But hey, that's just my opinion.

Other than that, my week has mostly been filled with work and studying. Work is pretty damn boring at the moment, I'm getting excited to leave to be honest but know that I would just get far too bored. I suffer quite badly from cabin fever and always feel the need to be being 'productive' at all times. If I accidently lie in I will wake up sulking because I will feel like I've missed half the day! I think generally I don't think the daytime is for relaxing in, that's what the evenings are for!

I have done nothing of the social-nature this week. Haven't really seen my boyfriend because he's been working silly hours (unless a 1am wake up when he gets in counts?). Was supposed to go out for the 6 Nations now and meet my boyfriend and friends but they've gone to a pub next to the Millenium Stadium and it's definitely not pregnant friendly right now as I can't stand up for hours / choc full of people, you know the drill... So yeah, feeling pretty disappointed right now. I think this is definitely the worst feeling in pregnancy. Especially after getting ready and waiting to find out where I was going. So yeah, tonight shall be spent moping around the house, watching the Office with B&J and green tea and painting my nails.

Let's hope next week is a bit more fun! (It should be, I hope)

Lyd 

xxx