Haul Post : Tom & Me : H&M and Primark

I went shopping on Sunday, not looking for anything in particular but I knew I wanted to look in H&M and Primark. They did not disappoint!

H&M

Spider-Man Snapback : £4.99

Mr B is a bit of a geek at heart and this is definitely being channeled into Tom! I really love this cap and the peak will offer a good amount of shade on his face and, in truth, I think it looks trendy! It is also available in Superman. 

AC/DC Sleeveless Tank : £7.99

I would usually consider this to be an extravagance but I just totally fell in love! The colour is more of a grey marl than in the photo, there was crappy lighting. I really like the little rocker style and thought this would be adorable with some black jeans and Vans! They smallest size they had was aged 2-4 (H&M do really strange sizes! But I guess it will last!) so Tom might have to grow into this, although I think it will work slightly oversized.

Star Wars T-Shirt : £5.99

Continuing with the geek chic, we have a t-shirt with different Star Wars ships on. Mr B is all about the Star Wars and I thought they could match, he doesn't know this yet! I think this is a really cool take on the theme, rather than just the logo or storm troopers! It reminds me of Haynes manuals.

Indigo Jeans : £4

Can you guess the price? I bought these as a basic trouser. Tom has a few pairs of more vintage look jeans and I thought it would be nice to have a smarter pair. They are pretty basic but look like a really good quality and have just the right amount of stretch and long legs which bodes well for Tom!

That's all I got in H&M, they had an awesome Jungle Book t-shirt but not in Toms size, so I will keep my eyes out for that. I've also seen a cute double pack of Superman t-shirts that I like the look of and if I see them I will probably get but they weren't  in stock at my local H&M.

Primark

Grandad Shirt : £3 (reduced)

I have been looking for this style of shirt as we have a few weddings to attend over the summer, and I was overjoyed to find it not just in Primark but reduced (what-what!). I bought a bigger fit as I want Tom to wear a waistcoat with it and to be comfy. The shirt looks to be really good quality and I really like the rolled up sleeve detail, it's deco sulu the little things that count! 

Travel Bottle Set : £1

Not that exciting but I bought this for two purposes. 1. I buy the big bottles of Aveeno for Toms eczema and have travel size for me but NanNan has to lug a big one about when she looks after him. I thought I could use the pump bottle to give her a travel option and make life a bit simpler. 2. I have to carry Puritin with me in case of an allergic reaction so I was considering decanting some for a more travel friendly option, I'm not entirely convinced it will be successful but it's worth a punt!

That's all I got for Tom but I picked up some odds and sods for me : 

Shoe Liners : £2

My feet are ruined after years of ill fitting shoes and I am slowly trying to reverse some of this. I've not tried these before but I like the logic of being able to wear these with shoes and I have a pair in mind that are lovely but evil so I'm looking forward to testing these babies out!

Men's Harry Potter T-Shirt : £3 (reduced) 

I bought this on a whim. Harry Potter madness seems to have taken over my family so I thought, why not! I like a men's t-shirt as they are usually quite long and as I am *ahem* fuller figured, my body gives them shape. I like it, it's fun, why not!

Sarong : £1 (reduced)

I bought this as we are going to Spain in the summer and I figured I am going to buy one at some point, for £1 the time is now! It's just a plain pink sarong that I can chuck on when I'm not in the pool and am chasing after Tom! Feels an ok quality, and looks easy to pack. Might even work as a scarf? We shall see...

Acid Wash Jeggings : £7

I have recently lost a bit of weight and so my size 20 skinniest and jeggings kept felling down, a pain in the arse when I'm constantly up and down chasing Tom! So I decided to get these, I've seen a lot of bloggers talking about the high waisted jeans in here, but I could only see them in a 20 (typical!) so I got the wash in these! They are good value, and comfy. I am really happy with them, feel quite trendy! They are a bit more blue than the photo but again the lighting was a bit ass.

Super High Waisted Jeans : £10

I got these too as I have heard lots of blog talk that they are very similar in style to the Topshop Joni jeans, but I have a snowballs chance in hell in getting my arse in them! The picture doesn't pick up that there is a rip in the knee (there I go being all trendy again) so I need to remember to be cautious getting dressed and not putting my foot through it, which I've done in the past! I'm pleased with the fit, they seem to hold in the mum tum, which can only be a good thing!

Batwing Cardigan : £5 (reduced)

This was a pain to photograph! It's folded in half so you can see the sleeve shape, it's s navy cardi with white stripe and it's a very fine knit. I'm not a lover of my arms and at work I like to be a bit covered so this kind of light cardi is perfect for warmer weather. It could definitely be dressed smart or casual and a fiver is really reasonable. 

Bow Hairclip : £1

This is a cute couple pink floral print with an acrylic bow on the side. Tom is fascinated my hair and can get a bit grabby so I like to keep mine up and I like that clips means no hair kinks when you take them out. It's cute, it's a quid, I'm sure I will end up getting more!

That's my lot for today, I could have happily kept shopping but Mr B was getting bored! Have you got any bargains recently?

Plus Size Pregnancy :

In truth I'm not sure about this post, I feel a bit anxious, like I'm putting out there what people don't want to know? I'm not sure exactly what I mean, just a gut feeling.

Equally, soon after I found out I was pregnant I started to manically Google 'plus size pregnancy', 'fat mum', 'obese pregnancy' and many other variations of the above. When we started trying to conceive I hadn't given much thought to actually being overweight and pregnant, two of my sisters have fertility issues and I'm a 'big girl' so I assumed it would be a big struggle. Three months later I was a knocked up fatty. 

I was wearing a size 22 and had no idea even what a plus size person looked like at full term, cue Google. And it helped a little bit but it seemed to be mostly American women, which is wonderful but I was looking for advice and guidedence  from the home soil.

Then I turned to those wonderfully crazy Netmums. I have found Netmums to be a  great resource on many occasions but in this case it felt a lot more like scare mongering. There was so many frightened women in the same boat that I was and the responses seemed to be that doctors will tell you off and people will say you are huge, this is not what you need to hear and I friggin hope it was the exception and not the rule!

I am going to do a Q&A style on what I worried about and if you have any questions or if I miss anything then pop it in the comments and I can answer or do a part 2 post (which would be terribly exciting!)

Did I end up so massive that people thought I was just really really fat and not pregnant?

I worried about this for a long time, an older friend of mine told me that when she had one of her children there was people that didn't know she was even pregnant. I think she was trying to prepare me in case I didn't show. I did show, I ended up with a fecking great big bump that you couldn't pretend was anything but a baby! 

This is me on my way into the hospital to have Tom so excuse the action shot/looking like a tramp, notice said massive bump!

Will I get gestational diabetes because I'm a chubby bunny?

I didn't! I have friends of all different shapes and sizes and some got it, some didn't. Just eat healthy and take care of yourself. 

I'm under consultant led care, what does this mean?

I had this, in daily life it means more appointments and possibly extra scans  (every cloud has a silver lining). The other side is that you may have extra complications as your body does have to work harder to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Labour may also have difficulties and your choice of pain relief may be affected. You also may not be able to give birth on a midwife led unit, in case of these problems. You may also be referred to a healthy weight management club, I was supposed to be but it didn't happen due to a clerical error (no biggie). I like to end on a positive, so, you get more time off work for the appointments!

Will medical staff be mean to me as I'm fuller figured?

Not in my experiences, in my time not one person made me feel bad about my weight (except me!). I personally felt embarrassed when I had to lift my belly (cringe) but when you hear your babies heartbeat then you don't give a fig.

Will they see my baby on the scan through my blub?

Yup, it might take a bit longer or be a bit more difficult but they will find your little pea. A few times Tom would snuggle right under my thickest part but my midwife was always able to find him. 

Will I be able to fit in maternity clothes? And not look like a twat?

Of course you can. Next maternity leggings was a particular favourite of mine! I bought a big bundle on eBay and used some items I already had. There is plenty out there. Your body will look beautiful in empire dresses and long skirts or tunics. Don't be shy to accentuate that wonderful rotund tum!

What will my bump look like? 

Well, mine wasn't the traditional D shaped round beach ball bump (I wish!). Instead, I had a B shape bump, so I had my big beach ball but under it I had my belly. Dressed, you wouldn't even notice but in the nude it was there. It wasn't the beautiful maternity pictures you see in magazines but it was me abd Tom, and that's ok.

This is all I can think of for now, but please ask any thing else you are worried about! I'm here to help! Sending chub mama love x