Tag Archives: What to Expect

Jul 23 2013

What to Expect… The DVDs

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The full extent of my pregnancy fitness was cradling my bump on the bus on the way to work. By the time I got home every night I was utterly exhausted. I’d heard all the hype about swimming, but having dived into a pool several years ago and got my hair caught in a vent, you’d be lucky to get me in a body of water any more substantial tan Dexie’s paddling pool.

But this time around I’ll be considerably more careful. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been at the moment and put it all down to lack of exercise both before and after Dexter’s birth. As soon I get those 2 pink lines I’ll be donning the maternity lycra and slipping on (every pregnant woman’s secret weapon) What To Expect When You’re Expecting: The Workout, and trying my best to join in.

So my contribution to exercise (and Project Baby 2) this week has been to watch this DVD whilst laying on the floor with Dexter re-learning Silent Night on his Leapfrog xylophone. I haven’t attempted one lunge, pelvic floor or squat, but I’m full of admiration for the tiny people on the telly doing their best to inspire me.

I blame this blog, the heat, lack of appropriate footwear, and a child that refuses to play independently with anything remotely age-appropriate - seriously, I had to pluck keyboard keys from my laptop out of his mouth yesterday morning. I’m not complaining - I’ve just written off bikinis for this upcoming holiday and picked ‘forgiving’ dresses that will minimise the chance of a foreign waiter asking me ‘when I’m due’.

In all seriousness, this is a pretty impressive DVD packed full of easy and safe exercises for the mum-to-be. Keeping fit in pregnancy is actually incredibly important and no laughing matter. There are a whole host of benefits including preparing yourself for the rigours of childbirth, improved sleep and guarding again gestational diabetes. There’s Pilates-based moves and yoga-inspired stretches to help build stamina and rejuvenate aching and tight muscles. Thankfully the soundtrack is also less ’70′s disco’ than other pregnancy workout DVDs too.

But for now, as the heat is crippling, I’m way behind with my blog posts, and there’s chilled wine in the fridge that might not last until Craig gets home, I’ll make myself comfortable and watch the very funny What to Expect When You’re Expecting (the movie) instead.

Centred on the upcoming births of 3 women, the film follows each of them and their hapless other halves to D Day. I thought it was heartwarming and funny, and dealt with some pretty tough issues (miscarriage and adoption) in a sensitive way. Sadly Craigy found it a little patronising. Craig was very hands on throughout my pregnancy and is probably a more natural parent than I, so he gets a little pee’ed off when he sees dumbed-down-dad’s on the tv. If he’d only watch one episode of One Born Every Minute he’d quickly realise what a rare (and sought after) commodity he is and I’d lose him to a considerably yummier mummy from Dexter’s playgroup!

There’s lots to like about this movie, and most mums will see snippets of their own experience of pregnancy in each of the characters. From the desperate-to-be-pregnant Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) with her cringeworthy breastfeeding children’s book and his and hers ovulation alarm, to the mum-to-be (Cameron Diaz) that refuses to slow down, to the mum (Brooklyn Decker) whose fertility knows no bounds and winds up sneezing out her first born twin.

The only thing that’s apt to make you raise your eyebrows is how utterly gorgeous all the mums-to-be look with their incredibly cute baby bumps (I didn’t spot one scene without a large helping of mascara and lipgloss) - I certainly didn’t look like that pushing my trolley around Tescos in my 8th month!

You can find both these DVDs on Amazon, or check out the new website to learn about all things pregnancy, baby and beyond. The WTE UK team can also be found on Facebook and Twitter and are always on hand to answer those questions that just can’t wait - do pop over and show them some love.

DISCLAIMER: The What to Expect team kindly sent me both DVDs for the purpose of this review, but all views and opinions are my own.

 

 

Jun 17 2013

“Why would you want two in nappies?”

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It’s no secret that Craig and I are trying for another baby. It’s been 8 months now, and other than our miscarriage in January, nothing. Not one late period, not one faint pink line on a pregnancy test, nothing.

As well as charting, we’ve spent a fortune on ovulation sticks, I’ve been munching away on celery sticks without hummus (I know, I know - sounds horrible right?) in a bid to shed the pounds, and Craig’s ditched his morning coffee. We’ve been getting in plenty of early nights (even after World Wars 3, 4 and 5 over whose turn it is to wash up) and I’ve even taken to downing various homeopathic concoctions that a friends’ sisters’ cousins’ friend insisted helped her when they were trying.

Having just had a appendicitis scare, I informed the the doctor in A&E who was having a poke at my tummy about our baby-making mission. As she had access to some recent ultrasounds pictures that showed I had PCOS on my left ovary, she asked how long we’ve been trying and what, if anything, we’d been doing to boost our chances (presumably in case one too many folic acid tablets had bought on the crippling pain in my lower abdomen). When I spouted off all the things we’d been up to she looked absolutely incredulous, even more so when I tipped her off that Dexter is just 13 months old. Her response, like plenty others we’ve had, was to tell me I was mad and that I might be better waiting.

These sort of comments really get on my nerves. They suggest that Craig and I haven’t really thought through our decision, or are naive to the fact it’ll be hard work having two small children. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say to Craig “It would be quite cool to have another one, don’t you think?” - we’ve discussed it hundreds of times and have hundreds of reasons why we want another baby quickly. It isn’t just the romanticised notion of them playing together and becoming best friends, it also makes financial sense to us as regards childcare choices, work responsibilities, and our plans to move to Australia.

In terms of our plans, I want to have my children here in the UK. Despite much criticism, I think our NHS has a superior approach to ante-natal care and having had Dexter here, I like the idea of knowing what to expect for baby 2. Then, having already made inroads with our plans to emigrate to Australia, it also makes perfect sense to us to get this huge move done before both children reach school age. We feel it’ll be easier to uproot younger children who aren’t already in the school system, and won’t be too traumatized over moving away from the wider family.

As it’s likely that in Australia I’ll be more marketable than Craig in terms of work opportunities, we need to ensure that I won’t be taking anymore maternity leave when I have my feet under a desk. This means we’re keen to get the chaos of the early years over in one fell swoop so I can then dedicate all my attention on my career. Until then, I get to spend lots of time nurturing my babies and enjoying the early years. It all makes perfect sense.

Having two children quickly, for us, has never been in doubt. In fact, we’re so convinced it’s right for us that I refused to talk to a midwife about contraception following Dexter’s birth. Yep, laid up in the recovery ward following my c-section I told her that we’d be trying again as soon as my stitches would allow us to.

We just know that when we find out that baby 2 is safely growing in my tummy that all our hard work will be worth it. Until then, I’ll be keeping my ovulation calculator bookmarked and the bathroom cupboard stocked full of tests and potions. Back-to-back pregnancy might not be for everyone, but it is for us.

Anyone else trying to get conceive at the moment? There’s some really great advice over on What to Expect’s website - everything from secondary infertility, to fertility supplements, to conception myths. It’s well worth a visit if you’re looking for balanced and practical advice about any stage of the parenting life-cycle.

 

 

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