Hello mummies

I hope you’re keeping warm and happy, if like me you’re solar powered you’ll be feeling the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), December, January and February are the worst. At almost 8 months pregnant and generally sluggish, tired and ready to pop it’s difficult to get out and absorb the day light to try and combat it.

My plan of attack is to treat it with ‘hygge’ (pronounced hue-gah) if you don’t know …

“Hygge is a Danish word that is a feeling or mood that comes taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary, every day moments more meaningful, beautiful or special. Whether it’s making coffee a verb by creating a ritual of making it then lingering over a cup to a cosy evening in with friends to the simple act of lighting a candle with every meal. Hygge is being aware of a good moment whether it’s simple or special.

Some refer to hygge as an “art of creating intimacy” (either with yourself, friends and your home). While there’s no one English word to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as cosiness, charm, happiness, contentness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness” ( source : http://hyggehouse.com/hygge )

I got to thinking, about all the hygge things I did and am doing in my pregnancy. Here is my list which contains form pregnancy essential products I tried and loved. I’d love to hear yours!

1. Teapigs LiquoricePeppermint tea  – I love flavoured teas but most gave me heartburn during pregnancy, Teapigs Liquorice Peppermint tea doesn’t and is luscious! A little on the expensive side, at approx. 40p a cup, but unlike most other tea bags I’ve tried, if you leave the teabag in too long it doesn’t ruin your drink. It’s caffeine free so if like me you’re sensitive to caffeine then this is perfect. I don’t generally like mint in tea, but this tea is the perfect balance. The liquorice lingers and cuddles you, it relaxes your entire aching body making you close your eyes and savour the feeling. One cup and you’ll be selfishly savouring the moment to enjoy on your own when the kids are in bed and you’re alone with your cuppa.

2. Lush Milky Bath https://uk.lush.com/products/milky-bath– I suffer from mild eczema and generally dry skin, I can get away with using smellies once or twice but my skin will react if I take advantage of its patience 🙂 however during pregnancy my skin is very tight and itchy, especially in the evenings. The Lush Milky Bath bubble bar contains Soya Milk Powder, orange oil and organic cocoa butter. I got 4 baths out of it, at £3.75 a bar it costs me just under £1 per bath, in a soft water area you could stretch it further. The water felt luscious and creamy and smelt divine. It did not dry my skin, although I made sure to pat it dry and use moisturiser just in case. Top tip : to make the bar go further, crumble it in a container and let the bath water run into the container at full force.

3. Spicy Food – during my last pregnancy spicy food gave me heartburn, but then during my last pregnancy looking at food gave me heart burn. This time spicy food doesn’t seem to affect me, but it does help with bloatedness without going into too much detail.

4. Baking – with my 3 year old, if I prepare and measure most of the ingredients out before we start it saves a lot of mess and impatience related behaviour. I save some of the ingredients for him to weigh on the scales, butter works well, he likes to cut bits off and see the numbers go up on the scales. The therapeutic nature of mixing the ingredients and the smell of the baking is a feeling like no other. The smell of the hot sugary cake mix rising in the oven is just heavenly as it takes over the house. I love the LakeLand dinasaur moulds, if you can wait long enough for them to cool, then put eyes on them to make them extra cute.

5. Aloe Vera Gel – http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-aloe-vera-gel-60002672I invested in Aloe Vera gel in an attempt to avoid stretch marks on my tummy during my first pregnancy, I didn’t get stretch marks but it’s anyones guess whether it was due to the gel. It’s very nice on your skin regardless, the one I used is 99% aloe vera. It’s lovely and cooling on my itchy skin and keeps it supple all night. If you keep a look out H&B do a 2for1 sometimes. As a note, stretch marks can be due to your genes, but gaining weight slowly can help overstretching your skin too fast which can cause it to tear.

6. Haircut – it’s amazing how good a haircut can make you feel. I have very long hair, I get it cut probably about 3 times a year, I’m always amazed at how manageable it feels after its been cut. I used to go to a hairdressers in town, costing my around £50 a time. The hairdresser and I struck up a friendship, she offered to come to my place to cut the families hair. So we now get mine, my husbands and my sons hair cut at the same time. It’s costs us about half the price and she gets some extra money. Also she can correct the mess I make of my son’s hair when I cut it 🙂