Things I've Learnt While Being Pregnant

Hello my lovelies,

Thought I'd try a different blog post today. I've seen a few pregnancy related posts so I wanted to write my own one about my experience being pregnant.
I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant with my first baby, my little baby boy, and luckily for the past few weeks things have been going well *touch wood they'll continue to do so*. This post won't be all things pretty about pregnancy, I wanted to keep it real but at the same time don't want to put any of you off of having children.

The start of my bump pictures.

1. Morning sickness. Why do they call it that? It's never just in the morning, can come at any time of day. Some women are really lucky and don't get it at all, others may just get the nausea. Unfortunately for me, a brief fling with hyperemesis and a few weeks of nausea and sickness and it finally passed around 20ish weeks or so.

During my one night stand with hyperemesis. 

2. Nosebleeds. I never knew this was a thing during pregnancy. I'd never heard of nose bleeds being a symptom or even remotely related to pregnancy. Luckily, its not as bad as it sounds. The midwife explained that its just because things soften so just by knocking your nose there could be a little bleed but nothing major. I'd rather that than the sickness that's for sure.

3. Sleeping positions. At the moment this hasn't been such a problem, and luckily it'll stay that way. I'm not a stomach sleeper so not being allowed to sleep like that isn't a problem for me. I do still find myself tossing and turning from one side to the other during the night though, and wake up at least twice for trips to the bathroom. Thankfully its not been too bad so far, hopefully it doesn't get worse any time soon.

We reached the halfway mark!

4. The feeling of kicks and wiggles. I know this will be one thing I'll miss when my boy is here. At first it was strange and I couldn't get used to it. It's hard to describe the feeling but the best way I found was that it was like bubbles popping at first. As I've got further along his kicks have become harder and when he kicks hard enough I can actually see my stomach move. I love knowing that he's so active, just makes me excited to meet him. I find that he's most active in the evenings which is when Nick and I are together so he's able to feel and see our baby boy move around too, and baby is able to hear his daddy talking to him. This part of pregnancy makes me very happy and excited indeed.

5. Pregnancy glow. Where is this? Is it a myth? At first all my skin did was break out and got a bit crazy. Luckily that's gone down and my skin seems to be getting back to normal slowly, but still no sign of a pregnancy glow. I was never sure it was a real thing, so whether it is or not, I don't miss it and it doesn't bother me not having it.

These are just a few things I've noticed so far, 14 weeks to go and I can't wait to meet my baby boy. Its going so fast, it's crazy! People keep asking me if I'm getting nervous or scared yet, and I'm not sure. I know I'm looking forward to being able to hold him and look after him, but at the same time I still think there could be things I need to learn about being a mum. I know that will be come when he's here though, learn as I go along. When I found out we were having a boy, I was excited, but also one of the first thoughts that came into my head was 'I don't know how to look after a boy'. It will be a learning experience that I'm excited to go through, and excited to be doing so with Nick by my side.

Scary to think though that in just over 10 weeks I'll be considered full term, and with how fast its been going so far we'll see how long it feels like this will take to come around.

For now though, and until next time,
Thanks for reading :) x

Comparing 14 weeks to 26 weeks.
Excited! 

Gilmore Girls

Hello my lovelies,

How have you been? Well, I hope.
I feel like I've been all over the place this summer regarding my pregnancy. The summer is slowly coming to an end here in the UK and some days the heat has been nearly unbearable that it's left me feeling sticky and as if I'm melting at times. Thank God it'll be autumn soon and the weather will be cooling down. Makes me look forward to the colours in the trees changing to that crisp brown shade and cosy evenings in.
This year seems to be going so fast I remember finding out I was pregnant back in March and now I've got just under 15 weeks to go. Scary, but exciting.

Since my last post there have been two things that I have spent a lot of my free time watching, sometimes even hours at once. These are both television series but today's post is based on Gilmore Girls. As it was a childhood favourite of mine I was so happy to then find it on Netflix. I could finally re-watch episodes and finish the series as I never did those many years ago, despite finding out how some of the stories ended anyway.

If you've never heard of it before then let me give you a brief description. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Gilmore Girls is an American comedy/drama television series featuring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). Its based around this mother and daughter duo and their lives in Stars Hollow. We see as Rory grows from a teen into a young woman as she moves to university, and the relationship between her and her mother forever growing.

I remember sitting on the sofa when I was younger and it got to that time of day where I was allowed to choose what I wanted to watch. Onto Nickelodeon I went and when it was on I would watch Gilmore Girls, I knew the theme tune and when I watched the first episode again this year I still remembered it clearly. I've always loved the bond between Lorelai and Rory, and wished that my own mother and I were that close when I was younger.

The show features storylines that cover topics from relationships to school, work to family life and at times social classes. I love that the issues covered are so broad and not just focusing on one thing. As a show that I would say is aimed at mid-teens and upwards, it makes things feel so relate-able. The plots lines are easy to follow and you can find yourself wanting to watch  more to see how they unfold and whats in store for your favourite characters. Gilmore Girls is definitely one of the programmes that you can find yourself getting unwillingly attached to, but then you start to love it.

I love the cast so much. They all play their parts so well and since watching it many moons ago the actors and actresses have become familiar faces. the show also features Milo Ventimiglia, Melissa McCarthy, Jared Padalecki and Adam Brody just to name a few you may have heard of. 

I haven't watch an episode now for a couple of weeks but still there are times now and then that I catch the theme tune going round in my head, now I'm not complaining because I do love the show but sometimes when it feels like its getting played constantly on a loop it can become annoying, yet I still find myself singing it anyway.

I personally feel that its a show that anyone could enjoy as its an easy watch and the friendships between the community members in Stars Hollow just makes you feel happy and wish everywhere was as nice as that. I am definitely looking forward to the new episodes of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life for a brief eighth season to continue the storyline and settle some uncertainties it left us with.

Season One Pilot 

As it has always been a programme I've loved, I would definitely suggest it to anyone. Its so easy to get into and you don't always necessarily have to watch every episode to find out how things unfold. You can easily find it on Netflix, so I suggest taking a look for yourselves and not just taking my word for it. You never know, you might find a new weakness.

Until next time,
Thanks for reading :) x

Time For an Update

Hello my lovelies,

I'm back again and I know it's a while. I won't try and make any excuses but simply put I think I fell out of love with blogging for a while. I guess I felt like it may wasn't my thing after looking at so many well loved popular blogs, but then I thought 'you know what Lily, they all had to start somewhere so don't give up'. I know I may not be the best writer and there are plenty of blogs better than my little one, but I enjoy it and there's people that seem to enjoy looking at my little blog all over the world so if even one person enjoys reading it why should I quit? Each time I write and see my views from across the world it does spur me on to carry on, I just need to start believing in myself more so thank you to you lovelies that stumble across my blog, without knowing it you encourage me to keep going so thank you! 

Now as its been quite a while I feel like its time for an update. I feel like most of the time I've just been working at my two part time jobs so they've mostly been what's kept me busy since my last post. Last month I was going to post with my second vlog that I'd made but clearly I didn't get that far. I went to see Busted in concert on their Pigs Can Fly tour and had an amazing time! I filmed a lot of it and turned it into a vlog so I'll leave that below for you to watch. If I could go and see them again I would. For a few days leading up to it and on the actual day itself, all I was listening to was Busted as I was so excited, and their performance definitely didn't disappoint. If you've ever liked Busted and get the opportunity to see them I'd definitely suggest going. 

Now for my second update which has also been keeping my mind busy thinking about things other than blogging. It's big news so prepare yourselves, ready? Okay. Back in March my boyfriend and I found out that I was pregnant and we would be expecting our first baby. When we found out it was such a mix of emotions. Happy and excited, but also scared and nervous. We didn't know how people would react when we told them but after the initial shock and letting the news sink in our families are being so supportive which is helping us to be more relaxed about it and focus on the happy side of it. Of course we're still nervous to become parents, but knowing we have so many loving, caring people around us is helping greatly. It's strange when I think that I'm growing a little life and I'll be a mum at the end of the year. 

Its been a bit of a roller coaster ride since we found out. There have been good times but also times when the morning sickness has made me feel so awful but I just remind myself to be grateful for the experience as it will all be worth it in the end. I definitely had to keep telling myself that when I was admitted to hospital due to having hyperemesis gravidarum. That was definitely the worst day I've had since this all began. Simply put hyperemesis is severe morning sickness and dehydration, and it is awful. I couldn't keep anything down, not even water, so around midnight that night I was admitted to hospital where I spent the night hooked up to a drip (IV fluids) so that they could rehydrate me. I'd never spent a night in hospital before so I was dreading it and couldn't wait to go home the next day, but the nurses doctors were so lovely so really I had nothing to worry about, I was in the best place I could be at that time. 

Although I'd spent the night in hospital, the next day a nurse told me I was going to be having a scan and that made me so excited. It was the first time I would get to see my baby and find out how it was doing. It made the stay worth it, seeing it on the screen and hearing its little heartbeat made me so emotional, I had happy tears rolling down my cheeks while my boyfriend just looked over at me and smiled. Being told that everything was good with the baby we were excited to go home and tell more of our family and friends. Now that I'm four months into my pregnancy we took our announcement photo and decided to share our news with all of our friends. Never have I felt like so many people cared and were excited. People I hadn't spoken to in so long liked the news and were happy for us, personally it makes me more excited, now I' just counting down until our next scan in August. 

I'm thinking about doing little pregnancy update posts every now and then, let me know if that would be something any of you would be interested in.

If you read that through until the end then thank you because I know that was a long ramble. I'll try not to keep it so long until my next post and I'll be sure to get myself back into the swing of things.

For now my lovelies, thanks for reading :) x

Long time no blog

Hello my lovelies,

So again I've left it a while between blog posts, I don't really have a reason but now at times there will be something as well as blog posts, and that's what I'm about to tell you about.

A while ago I was asked if I'd ever made YouTube videos or thought about it, and up until recently I hadn't really. My channel had two videos on it but now I'm hoping to change that. 

I wanted to try giving it a go even if it's just the odd Vlog now and then, so that's what I'm going to do. I vlogged for the first time the other week so I'll leave that below if you fancy giving it a watch. It wasn't anything too amazing but I was happy to have vlogged something at least. Everyone has to start somewhere, right. I'm hoping I'll get better with it eventually, then the vlogs and blog could go together somehow maybe. 

Anyway, I'll leave it there today. Would love it if you'd check out my first vlog, maybe subscribe and leave a comment to say hey! 

Until next time guys and girls, thanks for reading :) x 

Life is Strange

Hello my lovelies,

Spring finally seems to be arriving here in the UK, thank God! I'm so excited for the weather to start warming up and spending more time outside again. How are you all? I've got something a bit different for you today. Not my usual ramble about whether I like a film or television programme but instead, a game. But not just any game, it happens to be the first video game I've ever been bought and the first game I've ever really played for a proper amount of time to get into it. It is as the title suggests, Life is Strange.

I am a total noob when it comes to gaming. Sure there have been times when I've joined friends in games like Super Mario or Just Dance, and there was a short period of time that I actually played Pokemon. However when it comes to games with a proper story I wouldn't even know where to begin. I've watched friends and my boyfriend play and I find myself getting the storyline and wanting to watch more to find out what would happen, so when I came home from work last week to find my lovely other half had bought me a game like this, I was very happy and thought it was a really sweet thing for him to have done.

The limited edition Life is Strange. 

Not only did he buy me the game though, he bought me the limited edition version which just made it that bit more special, and I couldn't help but smile and be very grateful. Just from looking at the art book that came with it, I could tell it would be a beautiful game and from the short amount that I've played so far, it hasn't disappointed me yet. It also came with the soundtrack CD and although I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, what I've heard in game play is really lovely and works so well with the game and its story.

Developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix in 2015 in different episodes, Life is Strange is a game that allows you to choose actions which then decide how the story unfolds, and could lead to good or bad consequences. It focuses on Maxine Caulfield, a photography student who discovers she has the ability to rewind time. How cool is that!! We follow her through her days at school and when she's just spending time with best friend Chloe, and see how she realises she has the ability.

I haven't played too much of it just yet but from what I have played I can easily say I really enjoy this game. At first I thought I'd be quite stressed figuring out what to do and how to do things, but I seem to have picked it up quite well. I know that sounds really silly but I really am not a very good gamer at all so this is quite good for me. Compared to other games I've seen, this seems to be a really good choice of game for someone like me. I love the story of it and when I play, I really find myself getting sucked in and not wanting to put the controller down. I really like how at times the story takes over and rather than control everything you get to watch as things unfold before it gives you control to move around again.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone and everyone and I don't say that easily. I don't know a lot about games but I think this is one that many would enjoy and is definitely worth giving a go. If you're not sure about it, watch the trailer below and you'll see just how amazing it looks.

Until next time my lovelies, thanks for reading :) x

"Phenomenal Woman, That's Me" - Poetic Justice

Hello my lovelies,

Hope your week is going well so far, slowly getting to the weekend. 

Today's film is one that I've been told to watch numerous times and every time I say I'll get round to it, and now I finally have. Sorry to the person that suggested I watch it, but I just don't think it's my thing.

Poetic Justice is an American romance and drama film made in 1993. Written and directed by John Singleton, it stars Janet Jackson as Justice and Tupac Shakur as Lucky. All of the poems that are featured throughout the film are written by Maya Angelou who also makes an appearance in the film as Aunt June.

I won't bore you with a plot line that you could look up anyway, so I'll just give my opinions and what I thought while watching it. 

From close to the beginning I could tell it wasn't going to be my sort of film. At times it felt cringey, and it struggled to hold my attention. I wouldn't say it's a bad film, just not incredibly interesting. 

I wouldn't necessarily call it boring, I just didn't feel hooked on the story line at any point. It didn't feel like very much happened. I think it just needed a little more action for me to enjoy it more.

I liked the poems, and two of them I had actually heard before so I recognised them straight away. It wasn't badly made but it was quite long which could be another reason it didn't hold my attention fully but I still watched until the end, and the end was quite cute. 

I wouldn't write it off completely as a film I wouldn't watch again, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to find it again. For others they might really like it so it still may be worth you checking it out as you could enjoy it more than I did.

Until next time my lovelies, thanks for reading :) x 

Love

Hello my lovelies, 

Hope you're all well. I feel like I've been working so much recently so haven't really watched many films but I've managed to squeeze in some tv programmes here and there. For example whilst on my breaks at work this week I've caught up with the new episodes of The Walking Dead, and oh wow! I've done a post about it before so I don't want to be repeating myself and boring you guys, but I was not expecting so much to happen in the first episode back. If you haven't seen it yet then go and watch it right now. Right now!! 

I like to have background noise whilst doing things like tidying or getting dressed, so this morning I started a new series on Netflix called Love. I've only heard a small bit about it but thought I'd give it a go so it's something to have on. 

Love is an American romantic comedy based around dating and looks at both sides of relationships from male and female points of view. Created by Judd Apatow, Paul Rust & Lesley Arfin, it stars Gillian Jacobs, Claudia O'Doherty & Paul Rust. I hadn't heard of the cast before but they don't seem bad. They work together well and fit he character roles they've been given. Paul Rusts character Gus, is the one that stands out the most to me so far. A funny, nerdy guy that can't seem to get over his ex and starts hanging out with college kids. 

From what I've seen so far it's funny but I don't feel hooked yet. I could not watch this for ages and not miss it. Still undecided to whether or not I enjoy it but I'm giving it a chance and if I get into it more throughout the series I'll report back so you guys can check it out. 

If you're also watching this new series let me know your opinions and whether you think it's worth continuing to watch or not. 

Until next time, thanks for reading :) x