The third trimester things start to get tricky again. I was absolutely knackered at work, my body started to get heavier than I ever thought it would- which really slows you down (oh and there is only about one sexual position I could manage- 2 at a stretch, and when I say a stretch I mean it in the literal sense)!!!

My feet and ankles swelled up to immense proportions, they were named ‘the trotters’ by Matt and the godfather to be. I didn’t even take offence- they really were trotters a pig would’ve been proud of! My hands also swelled, and whilst I had been used to being the brawn of the family- with even Matt asking me to open jars for him, things switched, and it even ached to send a text!!! I could no longer fit my engagement ring on, which prompted a few strangers to ask if I was still with the father!
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You may have noticed that we are following one woman through her pregnancy to provide an insight for those who are pregnant for the first time. Here is her latest edition to her diary, read more of her trials, tribulations, happiness and her research in her blog on our community.

The second trimester is fabulous for various reasons, the sickness has passed, the immense ridiculous tiredness has departed with it and there seems to be a burst of energy and excitement- oh and my boobs no longer felt like someone was sticking little pins in them continuously! The pregnancy became common knowledge after the 12 week scan as is usual for most people, so everyone is being lovely and concerned about you, and offers you copious cups of tea and slices of cake. The scan was a beautiful and amazing experience and we both cried and absolutely loved it.

I thought this was fabulous- until of course my waistline started to expand. Once a proper bump was visible I didn’t mind, it was just the in between stage of seemingly having a fat blubby belly for no reason that was annoying.

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We had found out we were expecting on the Thursday, and had a lovely weekend. This was short lived, as on Tuesday I was woken up in the early hours with severe stabbing pains in my right hand side. ‘This can’t be normal!’, I thought.

We got ourselves to the Doctor later that day- who happened to be the same doctor who we’d seen the day after the pregnancy test. (It’s quite funny- you go to the doctor to tell them/confirm that you’re pregnant, and they just say OK/congrats!! They don’t do another test- just take your word for it and get the ball rolling on midwife appointments.)

I told her about my pains and she looked concerned and booked us straight in for a scan to take place the following day- she said to the person on the other end of her telephone that she wanted to, ‘Rule out Ectopic pregnancy’. At the mention of the word Ectopic I crumpled and fell into fits of tears. I tried to contain them but they just kept coming. My bubble of happiness had burst already and I couldn’t believe it. Matt was supportive, trying to console me, but devastated himself. I wasn’t sure how much I really knew about Ectopic pregnancy, but I was pretty sure that if the baby was growing in one of my tubes I would have to have the tube removed, which would surely half my chances of getting pregnant again? In any case I didn’t want to try again; I just wanted this baby to be ok.

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Louise Redknapp is due to have her baby in three weeks time and a photo shoot 6 weeks following, for Triumph lingerie. She films her final weeks of pregnancy and the trials of losing the baby weight in preparation. The documentary aired on ITV on 26th March, Louise discovers the truth about super skinny pregnancies.

The programme outlines the length to which stars will go to, to have a skinny pregnancy and loose weight once the baby has come. Nicole Kidman lost all her baby weight in just 2 weeks following the birth. Instead of celebrating being a mother, there is now pressure on women to return to their previously “perfect” bodies.

The magazines and the press seem to be the route of all problems with coverage about weight splashed around expressing how much celebrities have put on or lost, there is no happy medium and now they are targeting mothers to be. This new trend of super skinny pregnancies has started to affect the public and women are going to extreme measures to achieve the “perfect” image.

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I have been doing a good search around for those expecting since I am with bump, I came across a huge variety of websites, most of which have some great offers on at the moment, so I thought I would share my findings with you.

Funmum.com has some funky and trendy clothes from sizes 8 to 22 offering every style from casuals, evening tops and work wear. I definitely intend to purchase the ‘baby under construction’ top that has 40% off! They have a wide variety of sale items with up to 75% off across all of the collections. Funmum has a breastfeeding area with cross over tops and a lovely wrap dress, the site also has an array of jeans with ‘how to wear’ instructions to see where the jeans will fit around the bump.

The Mamas and Papas online store is full to the brim of all items needed for expectant parents. They have a huge selection of jeans suited to different stages of pregnancy and for what feels comfortable for you, their clothing ranges from size 8 to 18. For ideas and inspiration on how to wear and what to wear with, M&P have catwalk videos displaying their range. They also have a whole section on how to achieve this seasons looks, all with reasonable price tags!

All things bump! Underwear is ever more important when the tummy is growing; not only for comforts sake but to offer much needed support. Mothercare provide bump support pants in sizes 10 to 20, as you have probably figured, unfortunately, they are not at all sexy but after further investigation, ‘Panache’ lingerie in the mothercare range have some beautiful lingerie sets for both pregnancy support and nursing. Some of which are on offer, there is a lovely deep coloured purple set for half price. One of the best functions on this site is the ability to zoom in and out of the product images to see the detail of the merchandise and the true colour and pattern.

Blooming marvellous has a wonderful collection of maternity clothing along with accessories and an array of gorgeous lingerie from sizes 8 to18. Their collection is extensive using quality materials for versatility and comfort. I think this site is a great all rounder, it offers lots of choice and their lingerie is tailored for every situation – including strapless, sexy sets and practical. As with all retailers, there are still sale items to be had, take advantage while it lasts, Blooming Marvellous has up to 70% off on winter maternity wear and if the weather continues as it does, I predict we will need it!

Crave Maternity boast contemporary style that has been meticulously fit-tested to ensure the perfect fit during and after pregnancy. The brand uses latest fashion trends and caters them to the bump. Their winter sale still continues with over 50% off and they have promised the new spring collection shortly. This site is probably the best maternity clothing range for when you require something for a special occasion and smart wear; they have some beautiful dresses perfect for a wedding, or take a look at the A-line Swing Blouse for evenings out.

It was May 2008 when I stopped taking my pill and replaced it with folic acid. My boyfriend Matt and I had the chats about how long we’d wanted children for, why we wanted to have them with each other and what sort of parents we hoped to be.

Neither of us had been pregnant or even had a scare before, so we worried that we wouldn’t be able to have children, whilst at the same time; secretly wondering if (and hoping that) we’d fall in the first month!

The middle of June approached… would I be pregnant? – I wondered. My boobs felt sore, and I had a sneaky little feeling that I just might be. Mums often say that you just know when you’re pregnant, and I reckoned I was getting this feeling of just knowing. Matt and I quietly got excited, discussing baby stuff whilst remarking that we ‘shouldn’t get our hopes up’, with big smirks on our faces.

The day came when my period was due… I went to the bathroom in the morning…. nothing! I went on my break at work, and at lunchtime… again nothing! ‘I definitely am!’ I thought. I hadn’t had the usual menstrual pains, and I had a funny new ache in my back. I couldn’t believe I was going to be one of those lucky women who decide to have a baby and it just happens immediately! Matt had been texting and calling throughout the day to see if anything had happened, and we were both getting excited.

I got home that night, and we started thinking about taking a pregnancy test. I went to the bathroom before dinner, and there it was- the dreaded period. ‘Oh no!’ I thought, but quite quickly recovered with ‘Oh well, maybe next month’, told Matt that we weren’t going to be parents yet, and opened a bottle of wine.

The next couple of months went on like this, me ‘knowing’ I was pregnant only to find out I wasn’t. We spent quite a lot on pregnancy tests over those months! I would calculate my due date, then calculate it again (twice more) just to make certain. Then, the moment I was a second late, I’d rip open the test, aim for the stick (why do they make them so small?!), and wait with baited breath. Nothing!

Then September came. It felt like ages since we’d decided to try for a baby, and I’d started to worry a bit and wonder why it hadn’t happened yet. (I’ve always been impatient.) My period was due on Tuesday. Nothing came. I didn’t get too excited as I had been through this before, and in any case Matt was away until Thursday and I’d promised I wouldn’t do a test without him. I found out a close family member was pregnant. I was so pleased for her, but after I’d spoken to her I rang Matt and had a few ‘Why isn’t it us?’ tears! He philosophised that because we both wanted it so much it was going to take a long time. (I think this is something to do with sod’s law!) I accepted that, and hung up the phone. Wednesday came. Nothing. Although I’d been a whole day late before, so I still couldn’t get excited. THURSDAY came. NOTHING!!!

When he returned from his trip I was really excited to see him, and about an hour after he’d walked through the door I announced that we were doing a pregnancy test. He was exhausted and asked if we could wait ‘till the morning- I informed him that we could not!! He was worried that I’d be upset if I wasn’t pregnant and thought we should deal with it in the morning after he’d had some sleep- as I was so excitable being two days late!

Of course I didn’t listen to him. I ran to the loo, aimed for the stick (I was getting quite good at this trick by now!)- and ran back to him without looking at the stick. We waited a couple of minutes (this was in real time- in the world of waiting for pregnancy result time it obviously took years) then turned the stick over together. THERE IT WAS- the blue line we’d been hoping for- I’d never been so happy to see a blue line!!! I collapsed in floods of tears- whilst by boyfriend collapsed in fits of laughter- we continued in this activity for many, many minutes, only stopping to re-examine the blue line and check it hadn’t vanished- after which we resumed our crying/laughing activities like a pair of lunatics. Of course it wasn’t long before my boyfriend muttered something about being a ‘real man’ (he may have even used the words ‘I’m not a Jaffa’- oh dear!!!).

The first few days of knowing we were pregnant were so special- we couldn’t stop smiling, and couldn’t keep our eyes off each other either. We told his parents and our very best friends, and that was all. We spent the weekend at a wedding- me walking around all day with a glass of champagne in my hand that I didn’t take a single sip of- smiling with joy about our little secret. We kept smiling for the next five days, until something paused our happiness- something that was to be the first real concern in our pregnancy journey…..