In general, I am a big fan of a foot rub, but when pregnant it is my catnip. If you want to get on side, offer me a foot massage. Well, maybe only if you’re a licensed professional, otherwise it might be a bit weird. If you’re not a licensed professional, vouchers for establishments employing licensed professionals would be gratefully received. Just saying.

This week we have been living it up in the Isle of Wight. This is holidaying at its most intrepid. I would consider myself as reasonably well travelled and fairly adventurous on the whole, but since having our first son our passports have seen bugger all action. We've indulged in a long weekend in the new forest (ooh la la), another at the Suffolk Center Parcs (get us), and now we're jetting off to sunny Seaview, wait for it, for a whole week.

My Google search terms this week have been as follows: “waters breaking early”; “what does amniotic fluid smell like?”; “week 32 discharge”; “wet knickers in late pregnancy”. It turns out, my waters haven’t broken early and it is indeed quite normal to leak wee in late pregnancy. Oh good.

Brace yourselves for a Theresa May style U turn. I have decided that a homebirth would be the best option for me this time. Cough. Yes, yes, I know this is a little surprising based on previous expressions of opinion. After my week 16 midwife appointment I got all arsey about having a big pink sticker on my notes saying: “You are recommended to have a homebirth”.

My son is two today and this is strangely and unexpectedly very emotional. I feel joyful and proud of the little human he is, reflective and nostalgic that he’s no longer a baby, and somewhat euphoric for actually keeping him alive for two whole years.

Cot built. Check. Car seat installed. Check. Baby clothes washed and folded away. Check. Preparing for birth course completed. Check. We have just done a brilliant birth preparation course with LushTums and already I am feeling a lot more calm and positive about what's to come.

This week I have been frantically nesting, feeling an overwhelming urge to get organised. I have been scouring the house, tackling tasks that have been on the to-do list since January (it’s now August), and generally exhibiting mild obsessive compulsive disorder.

We've done it. We're there. 37 weeks. We have reached the point of watermelon. There are no more fruit based analogies on offer. The baby is now considered "full term". He's cooked and just plumping up in there, using the time to rest and relax, watch movies, read magazines, brush up on his French.

I think I have heard the word "no" approximately 8000 times today. My son is definitely on to us about this new baby lark and is having none of it this week. He's only two so it's easy for me to project in error, but I'm sure he is sensing that something odd is imminent.

I had a pedicure this morning, then a two hour nap. I am now eating a BBQ beef Hula Hoops sandwich — officially winning at maternity leave. I finished work on Friday after a rather frenzied scrabble to get everything I wanted done but have now made it to that dream state where you book in doing bugger all, allow yourself treats and pampering and put your feet up.

So today is my due date. Wow. But when I woke up this morning there were no fanfares, no fireworks, no balloons or bunting. No baby either. As I have read approximately 8000 times in my pregnancy apps over the past few weeks, only 4% of babies arrive on their due date, and so this day is of course fairly nominal. It is actually highly likely that it’s the one day I can relax, safe in the knowledge that I won’t go into labour.

I would like to start with a very warm hello to everyone in the LushTums community! My name is Kim and for several years I've been working as a LushTums pregnancy yoga teacher and a doula in Brighton and Hove, as well as looking after my two daughters. I am very excited to announce that I am now also teaching Postnatal Yoga!

The recent NHS report on midwifery staffing was reason for concern, but this is not news. This has been a problem which has been brewing for some time. And the shortage of midwives is not just down to finances, or lack of (although this is obviously a major problem).

It goes without saying that life changes a lot when you become a parent; many positive changes, and some less so. What many new parents find hardest is letting go of the life they had pre-children, and missing the things and the freedom that they used to enjoy. But while many changes are unavoidable and simply part of this new stage of your life, having children doesn’t have to mean changing how you live completely.
 

Home From Home - Normalising Birth

A while ago I was invited to give a short talk to around 40 midwives from the Haywards Heath Princess Royal Hospital and also from the Royal Sussex in Brighton. They were keen to hear about what it is we are teaching our pregnant mamas-to-be and learn about the benefits of yoga breathing and why it can be so helpful for women in labour.

I was delighted to be asked and so enjoyed being there amongst such a lovely group of women who are all experienced and passionate about birth - my perfect day out!

Dear Clair,

Hi, so it’s me… well, you, five years from now.

Firstly, congratulations! You are pregnant with your first baby, and I know how excited you are. You are finally going to have a baby, the one you have wanted for as long as you can remember. All those hours spent playing with dolls, babysitting and watching Supernanny on TV have definitely fully prepared you for being the world’s most awesome mother (ahem)…

LushTums teacher, Kate, talks about her journey from London high-flyer to pregnancy yoga teacher.

 I decided to train to teach pregnancy yoga because there wasn’t anything in the town where I live – Haywards Heath – when I moved here expecting my second child in 2012. Throughout that pregnancy I used to make the journey to Brighton to attend Clare’s classes every week, and I absolutely loved them. I was happy to make the journey as I’d been practicing yoga for years by that point, so understood how the classes would benefit me both mentally and physically. But I worried that any ladies who were new to yoga and living in the area wouldn’t feel compelled to make such an effort to attend a class, and I did feel frustrated that nothing was available locally.