24 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 24

This week was partly good again, despite from a little headache I had no further major complaints in the first days. In opposite I could feel how the stress has fallen off of me since I know that I have all the time of the world now to prepare everything for our baby and do not need to worry to much if my body will capture it all. Unfortunately the second part of the week was awful and I felt like my hormones are in a roller coaster! :( On Thursday I had my first session of acupuncture, mainly against the headache but also to keep my body 'in flow' as my midwife Heinke said. I desperately hope the hormonal issues can be solved with this technique as well!! ;)

Two needles in each foot, one on each knee.

Also in the baby´s room has been some progress. Last weekend we visited my brother and his wife and we received a whole lot of baby things and baby clothes! It was so unbelievable... Lars and Melli have collected everything for us for two years now, as our nice is 2 years old by now and so we could start off with a huge nest egg. We hardly need to buy anything anymore. Although of course we want to and we will also buy stuff that we want for a special occasion or something. But this gives us a lot of freedom!

First of all organization had to take place in the babies room!
These are the pictures before, all stuff just placed into the room somehow. The plastic bags are full of mixed clothes also in regards of sizes, partly shoes and baby bed things are in there too... simply everything.

And this is what it looks like after 4 hours of sorting and reorganizing. All my new plastic bags are labelled like dresses, shirts, pants, cardigans/jackets, rompers, vests, outside jackets, bed things like bed sheets and baby sleeping bags. We also got a cradle, a rocking chair, a nursing pillow, a maxi cosi and iso fix, toys and I also prepared 2 boxes with socks/thights and hats. I haven't washed all things until now because I want to wait until the furniture we ordered has been delivered and then I will put everything freshly and sorted by sizes in it´s right place :)

You can also see that we chose a deep-pile play carpet and affixed the window curtains. I am so proud and love to go into the room and see how it develops more and more :)

And this is how my bump looks in the meantime! I´ve become used to my big belly now and I love it so much! <3

How far along? Finished the 24th week today.

Total weight gain: I´ve lost a bit of weight since last week so I gained a total of 9kg since the beginning.
Bump measure: 93cm.

Maternity clothes? Yes! I can´t wear any normal clothes apart from t-shirts, blazers and leggings maybe.

Stretch marks? Not until now.
Fitness: Some exercises in our prenatal classes aaaand I went to the swimming pool again this week for once! And I am solo happy about it! :) I felt the water in my legs has decreased since then and I lost a bit of weight... wonderful! :)

Sleep: Was mixed this week, partly I was very tired and slept in but on other days I fell asleep late and still was up early and quite fit the next morning.

Best moment this week: Getting the baby´s room organized.

Miss anything? I miss to go shopping clothes for me. Not fitting into things I like kind of is depressing to me. I am also not very decisive in buying maternity clothes. :/ I also miss feeling normal again and not like a hormonal freak!

Movement: A lot! :)

Food/cravings: Chocolate still.

Anything making you quesy or sick? No.

Gender: Girl.

Labor signs: No.

Symptoms: A small headache and feelings or several kinds of pulling or hurt in my belly sometimes. I am also more sensitive now and will cry easily I´d even say this week I´ve been a hormonal wreck. :(

Belly button in or out? In but it´s getting shallower now.

Wedding rings on or of? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy and moody due to my hormonal issues.. I´ll have kind of mixed feelings I can get very sad very quickly now over the tiniest things I would also start crying easily. I think it´s very exhausting as I can´t control myself anymore.

Looking forward to: Feeling normal again, the babies furniture and some few fitness moves!

Please feel free to leave your comments in English or German, as you prefer!

Sani <3

Rituals ...

Recently I came to the brand Rituals. It was when I saw their shop and went into it and had a look around. Next thing I checked was the Rituals website where I could learn about the different theories of their series. I picked two which attracted me the most and when I was back in the shop again I was most convinced by the smell of the fragrance sticks called Sweet Sunrise. 

So I went with the Laughing Buddha line and also got a test kit and a body spray all scenting the same - sweet orange and cedar wood. The Laughing Buddha line has the mantra smile to the world and the world will smile back at you which I think is true.

The smell of the fragranced sticks is very decent which is perfect because it would´t annoy me after a short while. I have placed it in a room that has been freshly renewed which goes very well :)

The body care kit consists of shower foam, shower oil that turns into foam, body lotion and a small one-time body scrub. I like the shower oil and the body lotion the most.

Further I got the Happy Mist which can be used as a body spray or a pillow spray either. I prefer the fresh smell on our bedroom pillows and use it for that only - it´s lovely.

As a small gift I received a sample of the Magic Touch ultra rich, whipped body cream. This stuff is amazing!! It smells soo nice. The fragrance is cherry blossom & rice milk and it coated my skins so smoothly and softly. My skin felt so nourished and soft and the smell and the good feeling really got along with me for the day. Definitively a new item on my shopping list! ;)


Hope you enjoy your day and the nice weather outside! At least here it´s friendly and a bit sunny! :)

Sani <3

23 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 23

Feels good to be back on track! This week many decisions were made. But I am starting from the beginning... 
Monday I got a migraine again in the afternoon and I stood through it for more than 24hours before I decided to take something against it, as tons of water and fresh air didn´t help. :(
Also on Monday was our first training lesson of our prenatal classes. The midwife who holds this course is a lovely person called Mechtild and has a lot of understanding and good tips for us. We were 8 couples and it was a funny evening! :) We are going to attend this class on a weekly basis now for around 2 months.

On Thursday I had a doctor´s appointment and many questions to ask. First of all the baby is fine!! :) However, my belly is still hard and he mentioned that the migraine is a sign that my body is easily ready for contractions - I don't exactly know why´s that, but there must be some kind of connection... Against that and the hurts in my belly I should take 15mmol magnesium per day. My iron level has risen again which is good, but I still need to keep up with supplements. My current body symptoms and the fact that I am high risk pregnant now brought me to the decision that I would not fly into holidays with Nico which was planned for next week on Tinerfe. :( We are both sad about it, but we are doing it for our little daughter, so that she will be fine and that really is the most important!
Then my doctor gave me a prohibition of employment and confirmed me to fill out an insurance form, this way we will get the money back from our travel insurance.
And for me personally the best news is, that I am allowed to do some smooth sports, like swimming, yoga or going for a walk easily. But only if my stomach is relaxed! Wohoo!! I am so happy about that :)

The work prohibition is dated until end of April. So I knew immediately I would not go back to work again, as my holiday and maternity protection phase would start at that time already. On the way back home I visited the office and my colleagues and delivered the prohibition notice personally. All the ones I met were very kind to me (they got re-organized very well already) and I had the chance to say goodbye properly to at least my closest colleagues and my boss. Strange feeling somehow leaving the office for such a long time after all these years... Now I am starting to find a routine for my time staying at home.

For Lillian´s room we got a carpet and ordered a window shade this week. The delivery date for her furniture to come has also been fixed! :)

And this is my bump for 23 weeks pregnant!

How far along? I have just finished my 23rd pregnancy week.

Total weight gain: 9,4 kilos.
Bump measure: This morning it were 89cm.

Maternity clothes? Yes partly, but I am also wearing a lot of my old clothes.

Stretch marks? No
Fitness: In regards of fitness I am so so happy that I am allowed to do some smooth sports, when my belly is fine! This was probably the best news for me this week as I start to feel a bit awful laying calm and put on loads of weight.

Sleep: It´s ok, I still wake up 1-2 times a night and I dreamed of dogs 2 times recently. Don´t know if that means anything... :)

Best moment this week: Maybe it was the relief after I had my doctors appointment and when I knew everything can and need to be managed now.

Miss anything? Moving as I want to - my belly has gotten so big!

Movement: A lot! 

Food/cravings: I dreamed of steak and also chocolate this week!

Anything making you quesy or sick? No

Gender: It´s a girl!

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Monday I was surprised by nose bleeding again. I thought I am over it and this would only happen in the first trimester. And my nose is slightly blocked still, pain in the stomach and crotch, a hard belly and a big fat headache. Wasn´t one of my best weeks. From my experience with the 3-days-migraine from February I decided to stand through it for at least 24 hours before I would take some medicine. I lay in bed all day in the dark and felt so relieved when Nico my husband brought me Paracetamol which is allowed during pregnancy. I took 2 pills and I am not proud - but it wouldn´t have helped me, nor the baby, if I had stood through it for 2 more days either.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or of? Still on.

Happy or moody most of the time? Hm, that´s a bit difficult I was generally happy but also a bit strained due to all decisions to come this week.

Looking forward to: Getting the babies furniture delivered in 2 weeks!

Please feel free to leave your comments in English or German, as you prefer!

Sani <3

22 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 22

So this week I am finally back on track! :) The last post was so heavy and full of information and recent news that I wanted to give some extra space for the reveal of our baby´s name! I am so excited to tell... she is going to be named... 

<3 <3 <3 Lillian <3 <3 <3

We both love the name and think a small Lilly is cute and it´s also a name that is nice in the youth and even when she is a grown up. We also told the name to our family and they really liked it, too.

Apart from that the weather here is extremely sunny at the moment and I relax on my deck chair on the balcony regularly which is really nice!

And this is my belly for 22 weeks pregnant!

How far along? Today is Sunday, March 16th and I´ve finished my 22nd week today - all went so fast in the last weeks and I somehow can´t believe that I am half way through the sixt month already! ;)

Total weight gain: I weighed in at 76,7kg this morning. So this is half a kilo for this week which is apparently normal. From now till the end of pregnancy I shall upload half a kilo every week... but I don´t want to... :(
Bump measure: 86cm.

Maternity clothes? I am wearing maternity shirts paired up with leggings for most of the time. Especially now as I am mainly staying at home it does´t make much sense to wear something uncomfy!

Stretch marks? No.
Fitness: Not allowed at the moment.

Sleep: Same as last week!

Best moment this week: I really loved the baby clothes shopping that I´ve done this week. I went with my parents as I wanted to include them into the progress, you know. I think it was the cutest thing to see all these tiny clothes and finally being in a position to buy them! ;)

Miss anything? Not so far.

Movement: Yes, and I love it when she says 'hi' and does her exercises! She also does react to me whenever I put my Hand on my belly that makes me very happy! :)

Food/cravings: At my last doctors appointment I was told to be low on iron and my midwife advised me to drink more red fruit juice and eat more steak. So that´s not to bad for me!! :)

Anything making you quesy or sick? Bad mood of other people.

Gender: A girl.

Labor signs: Slight signs after the shopping day, but could also have been something else - I am not sure.

Symptoms: Mainly it´s pain in my belly or even more down below or at the sides, it seems my Body is working.

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or of? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Mainly happy, I still feel that I want to be surrounded by positiveness and everything else really annoys me. 

Looking forward to: Getting more stuff for Lillian´s room.

Please feel free to leave your comments in English or German, as you prefer!

Sani <3