Hopeless Romantic #OOTD

Fedora Hat - H & M  £14.99

'Hopeless Romantic' Slogan Tee - New Look £7.99

Black Leather Look Pencil Skirt - River Island £30.00

Envelope Clutch - Ebay £4.95

17 Weeks 2 Days 

I'm planning a night away this weekend with the hubby for some dinner and essential spa time.  The past month i've not really been making plans as I get so tired easily but it is good to make some time for romance.

So I was on the hunt for a full midi skirt after seeing blogger Taylor at www.littleblondebook.com wearing a gorgeous red one from ASOS teamed with stripe top and yellow heels.  I had to have this skirt so straight onto Asos.com and purchased but now just waiting for it to arrive so I decided for the weekend to look for a leather-look midi skirt as I loved how Kim Kardashian styled her leather midi as a sexy and stylish maternity look.  Kim's maternity outfit choices did receive a lot of negativity and I agree that some were way too tight fitting as she was growing but in the early trimesters I think she looked amazing and created sophisticated and stylish looks.  I do like to look through her maternity looks to make choices on what I should wear as I am a size 10-12 before I was pregnant and therefor realise certain outfits can look really bad as my bump and boobs get bigger.   I did get the skirt in a size 12 so probably only get a month's wear out of it with the growing bump but at least I can wear it when the baby is here for those cocktail nights with the ladies (if it ever happens, but it's nice to think this way).  And what better way to have a romantic night with your man then to remind them of your romantic feelings on your chest!

Julia

Instagram - @juliagraham1

Stripes and Bow #OOTD

Striped Split Skirt Dress - H&M £19.99

Blazer - H&M £25.99

Boots - New Look £27.99

Pink Large Bow - Topshop £12.00

Bathtime with Bump

What to do on Monday with no plans? Relax in the bath with a movie of course.  I can't remember the last time I had a bath (I'm not a smelly tramp, I have showers) but it's now my favourite thing to do and can't wait for my next day off work to have one.  I went into Boots in the morning to pick up my parenting club deals and free changing bag and one of the coupons was 50% off 'Mum & Me' products so I picked up shower cream, stretch mark cream, body mist, and bath soak.  It smells really yummy of jasmine and it's low price anyway without the coupons so well worth the purchase.  I had to put on the 'Back-up Plan' while having a soak, I think Jennifer Lopez is so funny in this film and want this dog with wheels.

Last night was the first time I heard my baby's heartbeat using the doppler, and it was made even sweeter because the hubby found it so it was a lovely little moment in bed with all three of us.  My next post will feature a video of me using the doppler because a lot of forum posts discuss the difficulty with using dopplers and the paranoia behind them when a heartbeat is not found.  This morning I found it straight away and I think my baby is at the right size and I can feel where he/she is so it makes it easier to place the doppler.  

16 weeks today, crikey! 

What am I wearing today? black skinny maternity jeans (Mothercare) long black sleeveless vest (Primark) short waterfall blazer (H&M) Ankle boots (New Look) 

Baby Name Blogs

This is my list so far....

So in a couple of weeks when we find out if it's a boy or girl then it will make the naming process a whole lot easier.  I've never had a name that I've had my heart on and I am very open into looking into any name suggestions but what I have found is the baby name books and top name charts do not help me whatsoever.  This is why I wanted to share these alternative name blogs.  Since popular culture is such a huge influence into why you may like a name and the main reason why you may hate a name, two of these blog's look into names in popular culture such as music, TV and film.  The other blogs suggested look into the meaning of names and old fashioned names that are making a come-back.

1. Baby Name Pondering

http://babynamepondering.blogspot.co.uk

I love this baby name blog because it looks into names in popular culture and makes you think about a more unique name even if you still end up with the traditional 'John'.  It's great to read the more unusual names and where they are featured and their meanings like the possibility of naming your child 'Quill' meaning 'lion-club'.  This is  still an option of mine, the husband, not so sure.

Names featured in this blog -

Korben (The Fifth Element)

Serenity (Firefly)

Hadley (True Blood)

Tauriel (The Hobbit)

Topher (That 70's Show)


2. Wait But Why

 http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/12/how-to-name-baby.html 

This blog looks into the difficulty of naming your child and is honest about the importance of people's reactions when they first hear your child's name.  I love this quote from the blog:

'Go super weird. No one will ever question your balls; If the kid is awesome, then it’s awesome.'

Names featured in this blog -

John
James
William
Winter
Cameo
Ashton
Alexia
Sofia
Charlotte
Zoey


3. You Can't Call It 'It'

http://www.youcantcallitit.com

This is a great blog for looking at celebrity baby names and also vintage names which are back in fashion

Names featured in this blog -

Bingham
Arlo
Milo
Flynn
Rex
Hawn
Cleo
Arabella
Harper

4. Nameberry

http://nameberry.com/

The main thing in this name blog which I like is the look into Nicknames.  It discusses the route of where a nickname derives from and I think it is important to know the shortenings of your name choice before you settle on your decision.  It is also good that in their sidebar that they feature the latest celebrity names because mums-to-be are always curious what is trending in the celebrity world.

Names featured in the blog -

Gus
Riley
Isla
Ocean
Reeve
Cecilia
Cillian
Mila
Lena
Sade
Dexter

Daisy Chain #OOTD

Daisy Print Dress - Miss Guided

Daisy Chain Necklace - Miss Guided 

Contrast Boots - New Look 

Sunnies - River Island

The sun is out and it lifts your mood 100% per cent.  Last night I had my head in the toilet pan, so much for feeling great and the nausea being behind me.  I read that this can mean your having a boy but who knows, well i'll know in 3 weeks, I cant wait! When I got home from work I received last night's online haul for new pregnancy clothes and I am in love with this daisy print dress from Miss Guided.  I wasn't too sure what the boots would look like but they are so comfortable and gives the height so I don't feel frumpy during this 2nd trimester stage.  The round contrast sunnies were out again today and hope the sunshine lasts a little longer.  I'm going through stages of nausea all day today and i'm really hoping it passes soon.  Okay off for a nap! zzzzzz

Julia 

Celebrity Maternity Style: Daytime

Gwen Stefani

Kourtney Kardashian

Kristin Cavallari

Fearne Cotton 

Beyonce Carter

Ciara

Olivia Wilde

Sienna Miller

Emily Blunt

Baby Room Beginnings

      
Art prints www.art.com

Frames www.ikea.com

Armchair www.lauraashley.com

Nursery Furnishings, Jamboree range www.mamasandpapas.com

I would like to start this post by saying I have only bought a few things - but this is a big fat LIE! After reading loads of forum posts on keeping your pregnancy a secret until 12 weeks, and not to get yourself too excited in case the worse is to happen, I did try my best to stay positive and not shop.  However this is so difficult.  Although it is only in the last month I have begun to get pieces organised like nursery furniture, the pram and start the clothes haul I did make a few trips to H & M baby and pick up things.  Anyways I will feature the clothes in a future post, especially to share how hard is is to find newborn pieces if you are not finding out what you are having.  

I have ordered my furniture which is by V.I.B and is in a gorgeous natural oak.  The room is really big which you would think is great but just means a lot of empty space and I know the nursery furniture is going to look really small, but I can't complain, more room to jump around and have fun in, or strut wall to wall to get the crying the newborn to sleep.  

I am going for a zoo theme and want to mix the palette of creams, browns and oranges and found a great range from Mamas & Papas called 'Jamboree' which combines zoo animals with my colour range, perfect.  I found the art prints from Art.com and I like the vintage zoo poster style although I know the stork print does not go with the zoo theme but it is too cute to not have! These prints are great because I am wanting to keep a balance of a baby and adult room and these prints can work in any room.  Instead of having a rocking nursing chair I wanted an armchair which can be place in a living room in the future but it did have to be comfortable with head rests and this tartan armchair from Laura Ashley ticks all the boxes and creates a great corner of the room for mum and dad.