With my ever growing bump, and big kicks and wiggles, there's no doubting I'm nearing the 'heavily pregnant' stage. And boy oh boy do I feel it! I'm seeing my midwife every 3 weeks now - a sign that things are progressing quickly. Anyone else agree?

I've also had my whooping cough jab (ouch!) and my flu jab now too. It's definitely been a busy few weeks!

HOW FAR ALONG?
26 weeks & 3 days

DUE DATE?
14th January 2018

GENDER?
Girl!

HOW’S BABY DOING?
I use the Baby Centre App to check on baby's progress - baby girl is now about 760g (as much as a red cabbage), and over 35.6cm. Her response to sound is growing more consistent as her brain becomes more developed - she may even be able to pick out mine and Jack's voices! Her tastebuds are now fully developed, her nostrils are beginning to open, and her mouth and lips are becoming more sensitive - how exciting!

WEIGHT CHANGE?
I've still not hopped on the scales, and I'm not planning to for a while either. I wrote a post this week about body positivity in pregnancy, and I 100% stand by it!

SYMPTOMS?
The biggest symptom I've been experiencing recently is dry and dull hair. It honestly looks and feels soo lifeless, and no matter how often I wash it, it still has no 'oomph'. I'm hoping it's just a pregnancy thing that goes away once baby girl is born - although I'm fulling expecting the hair loss to replace it instead...

I've also had some pretty awful vivd dreams these last few weeks too. I've never really had this symptom, so it really took me by surprise! One dream I had was SO real, I woke up almost in tears. In my dream baby girl was kicking so much she broke my ribs (I know right!), and then she needed to come out asap as her heart was frozen? Not nice!

SLEEP?
Apart from the crazy dreams, I'm sleeping really well. My body clock seems to have got into a routine of waking me up at 4am every morning for a wee though. And then once I'm back in bed baby girl seems to do her biggest movements.

CRAVINGS?
Nothing of note this week.

HOW I’M FEELING?

Pretty knackered if I'm honest, and sooo heavy down below. I'm used to having a high bump, but this time it feels so much lower. I also think my blood pressure has dropped again, as I had a funny turn on Monday where I almost fainted. It was awful!

MISS ANYTHING?
Being able to do my shoes up easily.. I must admit I'm missing the sun, but only because it meant I could get away with slipping on sandals and ballet pumps.

FAVOURITE RECENT OUTFIT?
I picked up this long-line cardigan in Primark at the weekend, and I'm loving it! It's added some colour to my usual maternity jeans and vest top outfits - plus it's super snuggly too.

BEST MOMENT THIS FORTNIGHT?
Probably seeing my midwife last week. I love listening to baby girl's heartbeat and being able to chat about all things pregnancy. She felt my bump too and said all seems to be growing perfectly so far!

LOOKING FORWARD TO?

In the next couple of weeks I'm off to The Baby Show in London, and then it's my sister's baby shower. It's going to be a lovely couple of weekends focused on all things baby!

You can see how this pregnancy compares to Parker's (my second) here.

26 Week Pregnancy Update | Baby #2

Another week has flown by and I can finally say I've had a week of feeling pretty good... YAY! Pip is now the size of a butternut squash and is gaining lots of fat this week (and apparently I'm going to be gaining a lot in the next few weeks too haha). He is around 36cm and weighs a little more than 760g.

After spending all of his time buried on the right hand side of my bump (and in my ribs) this week he actually finally moved! He's now been wiggling all over on both the left and right sides which suggests he's laying across my bump. It's been a lovely relief for my ribs and I even managed to capture some of those movements on camera too!

I have been a bit achy in places this week when walking long distances. I've noticed it's more when I walk to/from work than with the pram - it must add some support for my hips. I even had swollen feet on Sunday which I never experienced with my first pregnancy; they were not a pretty sight haha.

Another aching area - warning TMI coming up haha - is my downstairs. It really feels like there's pressure pushing against it a lot of time which is SO uncomfortable. I just generally feel swollen sometimes as if he's been kicking me 'down there' which again, is something I never experienced with Indiana.

Ending on a high this week I have officially booked and sorted my Maternity Leave! I've only got 6 weeks left at work before my annual leave starts on the 15th June, and then my actual leave starts on the 6th July. I can't believe I'll be finishing work next month, but I really think I need the time to prepare and enjoy quality time with Indiana before he arrives.

I can't believe I'm almost in the third trimester already; time is flying!