My Post-Second-Baby Body & a Lotus Caramelised Biscoff Cheesecake from English Cheesecake Company *REVIEW*

My Post-Second-Baby Body

Recent picture of moi - post Connie's arrival

Since a few weeks after Connie's arrival I've been making a conscious effort to eat well and exercise more in a bid to get back to my pre-Connie weight as soon as possible. I knew that this time round I would find putting on 'baby-weight' especially hard, having worked my socks off for two years previously to shift over 6 stone. 

During my pregnancy with Connie I was definitely far more sensible with my food and exercise than I was first time round with Bert, so although I allowed myself a few more calories than normal, and cut myself a little slack in those final weeks when I was feeling generally beach-whale like and fed up, I don't feel like I "ate for two" or lazed around the whole time. 

So, I was hopeful that my weight gain would be far less than my pregnancy with Bert (3 stone 11 lbs). As it turned out it wasn't actually that much better this time round and I gained a total of 2 stone 12 lbs. Still much more than I'd hoped for. I've only gone up one dress size, and I *think* I'm carrying it fairly well - people always seem genuinely surprised at how "heavy" I am...just shows you that weight can be deceiving. Maybe that's the way my body is predisposed to be, perhaps I put on weight far more easily than some, or maybe that's just an excuse, and I over-ate and under-execised even just a little bit, for 9 months - and that all adds up. 

I knew dealing with the weight gain was never going to be easy: I'd tried hard to mentally prepare myself for getting bigger, my shape changing, being unable to fit into my new wardrobe of size 12 clothes, but despite the mental preparation I'm finding it tougher than expected. I'm so eager to shift the pounds, but I'm also exhausted: trying to look after a three year old, 10 week old, run my freelance social media management business and cook, clean, shop and do the washing - as well as attempt to be a wife to Liam too (I fear I may be failing epic-ly on that front!) With all that in mind it's been hard at times not to let convenience win when it comes to food, and to swap a long walk for a few more hours in the office to get through my mountainous to-do list. 

That said, so far I've shifted 15lbs, and I am feeling better, closer to "me". I'm trying not to feel pressured (the pressure is coming 100% from me) - but I would be lying if I said that the extra weight I'm carrying is not stressing me out. It's making me feel a bit glum. 

Connie is of course absolutely worth every single pound of weight gain, and I wouldn't have it any other way - nethertheless, I'm sat here wishing I was able to wear my full-to-bursting size 12 wardrobe, rather than my makeshift size 14 capsule wardrobe (1 jeans, 1 chinos, a few tops and a sweatshirt!) 

Considerably rounder, but still loving life with my little brood! 

Despite the longing to reach my pre-preggo weight I'm still approaching my food, exercise and weight loss in general with balance and moderation, as I know this is the key to steady and most importantly, long-term weight loss. I'm focussing on controlling portion sizes, eating as much natural, un-processed food as possible, and counting calories (although all calories are not equal, so I'm trying not to get too het-up about an exact amount, more a round-about figure). I'm not cutting out any foods in particular (until next month when I'm challenging myself to attempt Sugar Free September *more on that in another post*) and I'm enjoying higher-calorie/sugary/fatty foods just in moderation - one slice of cake won't make you fat, just like one workout won't make you thin. 

Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake from English Cheesecake Company

With this in mind, I wanted to share with you an epic cheesecake I was kindly sent recently to review from The English Cheesecake Company. 

Still in the throws of life with a newborn, I still haven't quite got my baking mojo back - there genuinely aren't enough hours in the day for the most basic of things, so baking is a luxury that's had to fall by the wayside for now. I'm still regularly hosting/entertaining though, and our guests need to be fed, so when the offer of a Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake to feed 12 came pinging into my inbox, who was I to refuse?

If you've not discovered the wondrous joy that is Lotus Biscoff biscuits and biscuit spread then A) where have you been over the past few years and B) I demand you stop reading this post and go straight to the supermarket to buy some pronto - you won't regret it. These sweet, caramelised biscuits are a joy, and using them to make a cheesecake is a move of pure genius! 

I first discovered Lotus Spread (crunchy and smooth - think peanut butter in texture but made from biscuits!) back in Nov 2012 (read the post where I discovered it here) and it's had pretty much a permanent place in my kitchen cupboard since then. Hubby and Bert especially adore it, so this cheesecake was a treat with them in mind. 

If you've not discovered The English Cheesecake Company before, then let me introduce you. These guys produce top quality artisan cheesecakes, and deliver them frozen to your door - 8 hours in the fridge and these monsters are ready to devour. They are perfect for weddings, parties, large dinner parties, or even for taking into the office to feed your colleagues on special occasions - cheesecake says 'I love you guys' far more than a tray of ring doughnuts, trust me. 

Delivered frozen in a polystyrene box

So well packaged - with a label full of all the need-to-know info (ingredients, nutritional info, portion size, allergy info etc). 

The frozen cheesecake is wrapped in branded tissue paper, and looks high-end and luxurious even when wrapped! 

The frozen cheesecake, in the box ready for the fridge - 8 hours is a hard amount of time to wait to devour this beauty! Luckily for us, our was delivered at 11am, meaning it was ready just in time for dessert! 

Each cheesecake serves a suggested 12 people (I must admit we made ours serve 8... we like a lot of cheesecake, what can I say?) and they do a huge array of flavours from cinnamon bun streusel or pina colada flavour to cookies and cream or hazelnut praline. There are so many delectable flavours to choose from! Checkout their website for their full range of cakes, cheesecakes and mini cheesecakes. 

The Lotus Caramelised Biscoff Cheesecake from English Cheesecake Company in all it's glory! 

The Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake is priced at £25.00, so yes, it's definitely on the pricier side for a ready-to-serve dessert. But, I can promise you the quality of the cheesecake is incredible - it was easily the best cheesecake I've ever eaten and all my taste-testers agreed too! It was absolutely restaurant standard, and if you think about the price tag of a decent dessert in a high-end restaurant, then even if you make the cheesecake serve 8 like we did, it still only works out at £3.12p per portion and £2.08p per portion if you make it serve the recommended 12, which seems reasonable to me.  

It's not necessarily something you'd buy for just a regular-day (unless your stinking rich, in which case, go for it!) but instead I see it as a luxurious treat food reserved for uber-special occasions.

A very generous slice of Lotus cheesecake - it was worth every single calorie, trust me! 

The cheesecake is made up of a buttery biscuit-crumb base, topped with a thick, creamy, super-dense and cloying cream cheese mixture flavoured with the smooth Lotus spread, topped with a generous layer of crumbed Lotus biscuits. It really is just as good as it sounds. 

^^ Why not pin this for later ^^

It was so good that we all went back for a second slice the following day - what was that I was saying about one slice of cake won't make you fat - will two? ;-) 

Huge thanks to English Cheesecake Company for sending us the Lotus cheesecake in exchange for this review. 

Bye for now

Mrs B

xxx

Introducing Connie Scarlett Bishop: Birth Story & Breast vs Bottle debacle

One week ago today at 4:39am my beautiful baby girl made her super-speedy entrance into the world. 

Connie Scarlett Bishop 

Born at 4:39am on 9th June 2016

Weighing 8lb 3oz

Meet Connie Scarlett Bishop - our beautiful baby girl!

The Birth

Six days late, she hadn't seemed in much of a hurry to come out and meet us, until last Wednesday in the early hours, when at 1:50am my contractions started. 

I was determined to labour at home for as long as possible, and obviously had no idea how long or short my labour would be, but in a matter of just two hours my irregular contractions suddenly dramatically intensified and we found ourselves having to make a rather dramatic rush to the hospital. 

I entered the Delivery Suite at 4.33am after the most insane car journey of my life, and she was delivered naturally within just 6 minutes of our arrival! 

Thank goodness for lack of traffic at that time in the morning, otherwise she'd have undoubtedly been born in the car!! 

I do love me a bit of drama! 

My 'Summary of Birth' notes - Duration of labour: 6m

A few minutes after delivery - Mummy and Connie

Mummy's little squishy! Connie - a few minutes old. 

A few hours after delivery - just waiting to be discharged. 

I managed the labour on 2 paracetamol at home, and then some gas & air for the very short amount of time I was in the delivery suite. The whole birth was a complete shock after the 30+ hour nightmare of Bert's birth (failed epidural, emergency forceps delivery, huge blood loss etc). A week on and it still hasn't really sunk in. 

She came naturally with just a few contractions in the delivery suite, and there were no complications. After delivering the placenta and having some stitches I was able to eat some breakfast, freshen up with a shower and start to get prepared to come home. 

Coming Home

I feel so blessed to have had such a remarkably different birth this time around, and I was genuinely pinching myself when just an hour after arriving at the hospital I was sat with my baby in my arms, sipping a mug of hot sweet tea and eating marmalade toast! We were discharged at 11:30 am that very same morning, and I was at home eating lunch with my lovely family around me on the very day she was born - how incredible!

I was even more thankful that Bert was none the wiser to the whole thing: he slept soundly while I laboured at home, and then blissfully unaware of my dash to the delivery suite - Bert snoozed on while his Grandad held the fort at home. He awoke at 8:15am to his two Nannies who told him his baby sister had arrived, and he'd barely had a chance to swallow his breakfast before Mummy, Daddy and baby Connie arrived home to meet him. 

Welcome home Connie B! 

I have TWO CHILDREN!!!

Sibling love! 

He greeted her with lots of coos and ahh's and isn't she cute? He said 'Hello Darling!' to her completely unprompted, and then went on to ask her 'Connie, do you like Gorillas?' (he is rather fond of animals you see!)... the whole experience was just magical. And I have to say that one week in Bert has been a complete dream with his new baby sister - kissing her, cooing over her, being incredibly gentle, and always seeming so happy to see her. 

Long may it last!! 

Newborn Bert vs. newborn Connie - aren't they alike? 

What a family portrait! Hahaha! #toddlerlife

This first week has gone by in quite a haze - we've been so lucky with a ton of support from family and friends, the most beautiful cards and gifts arriving in streams each day, along with plenty of visitors all desperate for some newborn snuggles. We're obviously knackered, show me parents of a newborn who aren't...but we're loving it and we're so acutely aware of how super-fast these newborn days go and that they'll be over in a flash. We are trying hard to soak up every moment of Liam's 2 week paternity-leave (one week to go!) and we're relishing the slow pace of life at home together until we have to return back to the grind of work, routine and 'normality'. 

Our little squishy! 

Of course, this last week hasn't been all blissful newborn snuggles and milk-drunk smiles...it has been horrendously tough at times too and it would be irresponsible of me not to talk about the tough bits too. 

Breast vs. Bottle 

Aside from the multiple stitches and the pain that ensues, the three slipped discs in my back that were naturally badly affected by another labour...I also had a pretty horrendous time attempting to establish breast feeding. With Bert, I was unable to breast feed him due to him having a very severe tongue tie...we bottle fed him from the off and to be honest, after such a touch and go labour spread over so many hours I was too exhausted to even think about it that much. This time round I had really hoped to be able to try and breast feed, so I was chuffed to bits when just minutes after having my stitches Connie had latched on and proceeded to feed from me for nearly an hour and a half (greedy baby!) Perhaps foolishly I had thought I'd cracked it instantly. 

Two days in I was yet to sleep because she was feeding twice an hour, every hour...my boobs were huge, hard, lumpy, my nipples were cracked and bleeding, and my back was the worst it has been in a long time due to being sat upright in a chair constantly feeding. One of the things I stupidly hadn't considered about breast feeding was how all the responsibility (obviously) would fall to me - no one could help me to feed her, no one could sleep for me, and aside from bringing me plenty of tea, pain killers and giving me some moral support, I was on my own.

Whether it be down to hormones, or my naturally anxious nature, I also found it crazily hard to get my head around not ever knowing how much milk Connie was getting from me, and whether she was getting enough. With Albert we'd been able to keep track of exactly how many ounces of milk he was taking at each feed, and I felt totally reassured by the numbers. This time I just felt panicked and afraid that I wasn't doing enough for her. 

The pain in my boobs and my back got worse, the sleep deprivation ensued and by the evening of day four I was a crying heap on the floor. I knew deep down that I would really struggle to maintain breast feeding long-term with my back in the state it is (I'm in need of spinal fusion surgery), and with a toddler to look after and a business to run I was starting to get panicked about how on earth I could possibly maintain feeding her alone. I read up tons about the possibility of expressing milk and combination feeding, I chatted to lots of friends who have managed to successfully breastfeed, but in the end, I just knew that I couldn't continue. 

Yes, it was a selfish decision - it was to save my own pain, to make my routine and day to day easier, it was because I want shared responsibility of feeding, and I want reassurance from the numbers that bottle feeding brings, I stopped because I was completely and utterly exhausted and needed a break, I wanted to sleep and I could feel my mental health taking a tremendous battering, and that scared me.

I'm a firm believer in happy mum = happy baby, and honestly, those first four days with Connie really were marred by the breast feeding experience. Maybe it would have got easier had I pressed on, but maybe it wouldn't, and I genuinely couldn't take even another feed. I was dreading each and every one and I didn't want that to be the feelings I was experiencing when holding my beautiful daughter in my arms. 

So, the bottles were sterilised, the Perfect Prep machine ordered (they are MAGIC!), the Aptamil powder was opened and I headed to bed for a blissful 6 hour sleep while Liam took over. He was so relieved by my decision - he hadn't wanted to pressure me either way, but once I had decided to stop breast feeding he had admitted how hard he was finding it, and how much he was missing being able to be hands-on with the feeding. 

Three days on, and I know it was the right decision for us as family. She took to the bottle effortlessly and now she's more settled, content and sleeping for longer, she's going 4 hours between each feed, I know she's getting enough milk and everyone has been able to give her a feed. I've been able to sleep for longer than 15 minute cat-naps and I'm beginning to feel human again. My back is starting to ease a little and I'm no longer dreading feeds. My boobs are still horrendously sore - your milk drying up is not a pleasant process, but hopefully I'm past the worst of it. I've got my body back, and I'm excited to be back in control again. 

I have a new-found deep respect for any mother who is able to maintain breast feeding long-term, I think you are amazing, I really do. Maybe it comes more naturally to some, but I'm damned sure it is pretty blooming horrendous for most women, and you're made of tough stuff if you continue past those first few days. 

Her favourite place to sleep! 

Mummy and Connie, feeling much more human after we switched to bottle feeding. 

I'm excited for our final week all together at home as a family of four before Liam returns to work. We're looking forward to more visitors, plenty more cakes and biscuits to fuel the night feeds, and a lovely family BBQ at my in-laws' on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day. 

Just some of Connie's visitors over the past week, lucky girl! 

We had a cute tea party on Sunday for the Queen's 90th Birthday - I love this photo we snapped, such a fun one to look back on. 

As ever, I've taken a million photographs and have so enjoyed sharing them with everyone. Social media is a wonderful thing, and I've been so overwhelmed by all the amazing comments, love and support that's been extended to us through my social profiles. Who doesn't love a cute bit of baby spam, eh? 

BABY FEET!! 

Jeans and shoe socks...jeez! Cutness overload Connie! 

Four cousins.... Connie (6 days), Andreas (8 months), Albert (2 years 10 months), Paris (3 years 11 months) 

Today (Day 7) was Connie's first outing and Bert's first ride in the double buggy - it was nothing glamorous, just a walk to the post office and Tesco for supplies, but it was great to get out, get some exercise and some fresh air. I love our Cosatto double buggy, it's fab! 

**Some of you might wonder why we even need a double buggy with Bert being nearly 3 and totally capable of walking now - but we need it because I don't drive and so we walk absolutely everywhere in Bedford...I can't expect Bert to walk the miles I do, or stand on a buggy board for often 45 minute+ walks so for now a double buggy will be the answer when I'm out and about with the both of them.**

My world: Connie and Bert in their double buggy ready for an exciting trip to Tesco! Ha! 

Right, I'll leave it there for now as I've waffled on enough - but I wanted to get this post written and published asap - I hoped that the sooner I got it down the more raw the feelings and emotions would be. I know I'll love to look back at this in years to come and remember those first heady newborn days and all that they bring!

Mrs B 

xxx

Homemade Fig Rolls: Mrs Bishop is still baking...literally!

So, it's due date day tomorrow - I'll be officially 40 weeks and there's no sign of baby girl yet... 

I'm getting to that "I'm really fed up of being pregnant" stage now and I'm so excited about her arrival. Obviously, I'm slightly dreading the birth part...but I'm also feeling weirdly excited for the challenge of it all too. 

I'm trying to fill my days with lots of nice things rather than just sitting around waiting and fretting (plus, I want to try to stay super-active until the end in order to hopefully aid a speedy/stress free birth!) so I've made sure to plan meetings with friends, trips out, walks, and even managed to squish in a baking session today! 

I saw this recipe on The Guardian last week for homemade fig rolls by the super Felicity Cloake who does a brilliant regular series of "Perfect" recipes. I've been using these recipes for years now, they are always fail-safe and super-reliable as she does all the hard work for you by embarking on testing multiple versions of a recipe for you and coming up with her own final "perfect" version based on what she's learnt. Aside from being great recipes the columns are always a good read if you're a foodie like me! 

I knew I had to give these fig rolls a try as soon as I saw them as the classic fig roll has always been my twin sisters absolute favourite biscuit and as she was coming up to visit me this week (for half term, she works in a school) it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get my bake on! 

Mrs Bishop's still baking! 

HOMEMADE FIG ROLLS
(makes 16)

Ingredients for the pastry:

150g plain flour
75g plain wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
140g cold butter, diced
1 egg yolk
About 2 tbsp milk

Ingredients for the filling:

200g dried figs, stems removed, roughly chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
25g almonds, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp granulated sugar

(Head over to Felicity's recipe for the super simple method)

Figgy jammy filling ingredients

My super-short, rich, sweet pastry all ready to roll.

Assembling the fig rolls - 5mm thin pastry with the figgy, spicy, homemade jam down the centre...

Rolled, cut, glazed and about to be sprinkled with sugar before a 25 minute bake. 

Golden and baked to perfection! 

Felicity's recipe was absolutely spot on as usual - the only change I made was adding a little more mixed spice, as I know I like my bakes to pack a punch (especially where mixed spice is concerned!) ... this is definitely a personal taste thing though. 

Reminiscent of a mince pie, these buttery, crumbly pastries are truly delectable and FAR superior (in fact, you just shouldn't compare them) to their shop bought peers. 

Each pastry/biscuit works out at around 165 calories, so they're most definitely a treat to be savoured, but I would highly recommend giving this bake a whirl - it is very easy and super-satisying. 

I wonder if I'll get the chance to bake anything else before baby-girl Bishop makes her arrival? 

Mrs B

xxx

^^Pin this for later ^^

Getting ready for Baby Girl Bishop's arrival with Little Chickie

How is it possible that I am 35 weeks pregnant today? 

Oh my gosh - the time is just racing past, and the five week countdown is rather a scary one!! Everyone told me that my second pregnancy would fly by and they were so right. With a toddler to take care of, my own business to run and a house to try and keep in some sort of relative order, I've barely had time to acknowledge that I'm pregnant this time round! (Except for the first 16 weeks of dreadful nausea and my on-going back pain caused by my three slipped discs, of course!)

35 week bump!

At this point in the pregnancy I'm in full-on nesting mode, in fact I feel like I've been nesting for about 3 months now, so actually I'm feeling rather organised and pretty-much ready for this little girl to make her appearance. 

All the baby-things from first time round are down from the loft and organised, the baby clothes have been sorted and washed, the new double buggy purchased and put together, the moses basket is up, and we've done some shopping for lovely girlie bits and pieces!

It has been so fun to be able to buy girlie things after all the blue, green and dinosaurs of the past 2.5 years! I feel so lucky to be having a girl and completing our little family with one child of each sex. It's exciting to think about what the future holds for our little family unit. 

When buying baby-girl items I've been surprised at the sheer amount of PINK...gosh, it's a very pink-centric market. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not averse to a bit of pink, but I don't want every single thing she wears to be candy floss or fuchsia! So while shopping for her I've been on the lookout for a nice variety of colours, patterns and designs. 

I'm pretty girlie myself and I love bold florals and stripes - so her wardrobe is pretty full of these style of items...I imagine her in my head as a little mini-me rocking Breton stripes, lots of yellow and florals! 

I keep going and opening the drawers just to have a peek at it all. Such excitement. 

One of my favourite online stores to get baby girls clothes and accessories from has been Little Chickie, a cute online baby boutique that stocks the most divine high-end baby brands such as Albetta, Blade and Rose, Cuddledry, Pigeon Organics, Piccalilly, Kite and Denmark (to name a few). 

Little Chickie very kindly sent over some stunning items for our little baby girl's arrival - and I'm so excited to be able to share them with you, as I know you'll all swoon just as much as I did when they arrived. 

The first item they sent over was this stunning baby girl 1.5 tog floral sleeping bag by Kite, currently priced at £29.50. 

Isn't it just beautiful? 

Kite floral sleeping bag

I cannot express what amazing quality this sleeping bag is - it is literally the softest thing I've ever touched! I know just from touching it that it will be so super snuggly and comfortable for my little bundle when she sleeps. 

I'm a massive fan of the modern floral print and the gorgeous purple/teal colour-way. It has a zip fastening all around the edge of the bag and poppers to secure the top: making it easy to put on and off. We loved using sleeping bags when Bert was a baby, so we were eager to get some more for baby girl to try out and this one really is perfect. 

The second item they sent is perhaps my favourite of the three - not just for it's amazing pattern/design, but again because it is made from the softest organic cotton and looks so comfortable! 

Basically, if they made this in adult-size I would wear it for sure! :-)

It's the Body and Skirt Tulip dress by Pigeon Organics and I've basically never seen anything more beautiful... 

Body and Skirt for Baby Girl by Pigeon Organics from Little Chickie, currently priced at £21.50.

Made from soft organic cotton this cute little dress combines my love of a breton stripe, my obsession with florals (tulips are one of my faves!) and my passion for pastel-esque shades...

Just look at that tulip pattern...swoon! 

I love how the body/vest part is integrated into the whole dress, making it super-practical and comfortable for the wearer. Such a clever design.

Clever integrated body/vest

The final item they sent over was this adorable little rag doll called Tilly made by Ragtales and currently priced at £19.95. It's so nice to own a cuddly toy that isn't a dinosaur! Haha! 

Tilly the Rag Doll by Ragtales from Little Chickie

The detail on little Tilly is so mind blowing - from her cute embroidered face, to the the bows in her hair, she even has little knickers on under her dress...adorable! The floral pattern on the skirt of her dress reminded me of one of my favourite Liberty prints, and again I loved the fact that she's mostly purple rather than pink. I'm pretty sure she'll be a firm favourite with baby girl Bishop when she arrives. 

Tilly the Rag Doll - look at her little spotty knickers!!

Such attention to detail! 

I can't wait to see my little girl carrying this beauty around! 

Do keep an eye on my social media channels for pics of baby-girls arrival in early June...my timelines are sure to be crammed full of baby-spam this summer! 

DISCOUNT! DISCOUNT! DISCOUNT!

As well as sending me these stunning products (thanks guys!) Little Chickie have also provided you lovely lot with a bespoke 15% discount code for their website...

Use 'BBB15' at the checkout to get your discount and it's valid until the end of May - so if you've seen anything you like (of course you have!) you can get it at a great price too - what a treat! 

Happy shopping you lovely people! 

Mrs B

xxx

20 Weeks & Our Gender Scan...

Wow! This pregnancy is really flying by - I can't believe that I'll be 21 weeks this Friday - over half way through! 

I don't write a huge amount of pregnancy-related posts here on the blog as it's not really a space for that - but I thought it might be fun to mark the half way mark with a little update, a few pictures and of course our gender reveal...

I've been genuinely shocked and was totally unprepared for how different this pregnancy feels to my last. I had such bad nausea from week 6 to 17 this time round: it was truly horrendous and really knocked me for six, as I had no sickness or nausea at all with Bert. In the end I was prescribed some medication, which did help ease the symptoms and rendered me a bit less useless, which was at least something. Finally, it began to ease just as Christmas approached, and now I've come out the other side feeling much more normal. 

During the extreme nausea I went off all my usual foods and drinks: I couldn't stomach tea, or any sort of vegetables and all I really fancied was salty/carb heavy foods and fresh orange juice (which I never drink!). It was pretty grim, and the lack of nutritious food/drink and balance really got me down. I was very aware that I needed to be kind to myself, to let myself eat and drink what I could stomach, rest when I got the chance (fairly rare with a toddler in tow!)...but mentally more than physically it was hard to be existing on the junkier foods I've spent the best part of 2.5 years cutting down on, it was infuriating to feel so ill that I couldn't exercise like I usually would, and I couldn't play with Bert with quite as much gusto as usual. I couldn't even indulge in cooking the evening meal (usually one of my favourite times of day) in fact, by the evening, after a day of juggling Bert, work and sickness I would often find myself heading straight to bed as soon as Hubby arrived home at 5pm. I found it really tough to fit in all my work hours around feeling so constantly sick, and as for trying to do the Christmas shopping, well thank goodness for the internet is all I can say! 

I was so disappointed when 12 weeks came and went and I was STILL feeling dreadful - "it'll go at 12 weeks" I'd heard from so many. But alas, it took another five weeks before I felt myself again. Thankfully, Christmas saw me almost back to normal, and now at almost 21 weeks all that awfulness is a distant memory. Obviously, the outcome (our new little bundle) will be totally worth a few weeks of illness and feeling crap - but it was tough while it lasted. 

As well as the nausea this time round, I have also noticed some other clear differences to my pregnancy with Bert. Despite being four stones lighter than I was at the start of my last pregnancy, this time round I've felt so much bigger, so much sooner! I seemed to have a rather sizeable bump from around 8/10 weeks and was into maternity wear well before my 12 week scan. I also began to feel flutters of movement so much sooner than with Bert. Now, at 21 weeks the kicks are stronger, more frequent and very reassuring, and I'm beginning to properly enjoy being pregnant. Minus the exhaustion and my ongoing back issues (three slipped discs & a growing bump!) I'm determined to make the most of feeling well, and soak up every bit of these last months as a family of three. 

6 weeks

12 weeks

13 weeks 

17 weeks (Christmas Day)

20 weeks

On Tuesday we had our 20 week scan - always a very nerve wracking time - I barely slept on Monday night, so concerned that they might find something wrong, so aware that it all hangs in the balance and that this joy can be stripped from underneath me in a heartbeat. We were eager to know if all was well, and excited to find out whether a little boy or girl would be joining our family in June. 

I'm so thankful to report that all was well, normal and healthy at the scan, and our little one wiggled around, waved and put on a right show for me. It felt brilliant and emotional and such a huge relief. 

The icing on the cake came in the form of the knowledge that our new arrival will be a...

How lucky we feel to be completing our family with a little princess. I feel so blessed and hugely excited for what lies ahead for The Bishop Family. Yesterday (scan day) was such a blissful family day - Liam took the whole day off work and after our early morning scan we headed into town with Bert for some baby-girl clothes shopping and a spot of lunch. I cooked us a huge Greek mezze dinner in celebration last night, and I *might* have consumed a very small glass of red wine. Gosh, it tasted good. 

I still feel a little bit in shock and today I just keep pinching myself!

A few baby girl purchases to celebrate the news! 

Now that I'm feeling mostly well once again I'm enjoying trying to eat as well as I can, get out and walk each day if I can manage it (I'm banned from anything over an hour due to my chronic back problems, boo!) and I'm trying hard to be kind to myself - indulging in rest when I can get it, 'me time' in the form of my hobbies, reading on my kindle and long, warm baths, and regular pilates/core exercises to help me cope with the back pain as bump gets bigger and heavier. 

This week I've been enjoying looking back at my bump photos from my pregnancy with Bert, and I put together this side by side comparison shot to see the differences/similarities between the two pregnancies. 

I was surprised by how similar I look...I feel so much bigger this time round, despite being literally smaller in terms of weight - the bumps are just slightly different shapes/heights.

Now to prepare myself for the third and final trimester...

Looking back at pictures like the one that follows fills me with a fair amount of dread...

Me at 40 weeks gestation with Bert. WOW. Now that's a baby bump! 

And don't even get me started on the birth!! *runs and hides, pretending that I don't have to do it all over again*

That being said, I'm so excited to introduce our new little bundle to you all come June - so watch this space...and keep an eye on my Instagram feed @lucybishop2012 for more regular updates and pictures between now and then...

Bye for now!

Mrs B 

xxx