So as it stands, I am currently 8 months pregnant and naturally it has dawned on me that I will be giving birth in 4 weeks time!!!! I am feeling mixed emotions, excitement at the thought of welcoming another baby into the world and seeing Harry become a big brother! Nervous because I know what's coming as in terms of pain, and although I had a quick and fairly good birth and labour with Harry no 2 birth stories are never usually the same.
The last 9 months as a whole aside from the back ache and bad headaches, I have been lucky to have a good pregnancy but I wont lie in saying I am looking forward to getting back to normal. There was definitely no ''I LOVED BEING PREGNANT!'' like I did the first time round time and that simply is because I am a busy working mummy who admittedly tries to fit a millions things in within a short period of time. So with that in mind, I am very intune with my body and how I feel and I know how much energy and sleep I need to be able to do what I need to do day to day.
Since working in the skin and beauty industry I have been lucky enough to meet people from all area's of education as in terms of skin, some of these will be doctors, nurses, beauty therapists, nutritionists, skin aesthetician's and also sat in many seminars allowing me to have the knowledge that I do about healthy skin and what it needs on a daily basis. The first thing one needs to do is feed their skin from within, and by this we mean from the dermis layer, the deepest layer of your skin where all your living skin cells live and I do this by taking a range called ''The Advanced Nutrition Programme'' the ANP (for short) range is a skin specific natural nutrition range that combats and fights against the effects of stress, hormone in balances, medication, poor diet and so on. All of these have a huge effect on how our skin functions, looks and how it feels, so it is vital all is working as should be to achieve the reflection you want in the mirror. If you havent noticed already all of these are coming from within, therefore NO skin care product is going to fight against these because skin care products only work topically, there is still a need for those, dont get me wrong but they combat other area's that can also have a negative effect on how our skin looks.
Not only does the ANP range fight against what I have listed, it also works to put back into the skin what we are not getting from our diet and I will be the first to put my hand up and say I do not get all of my 5 a day of fruit and veg EVERY DAY, or do I eat amount of fish that is recommend on a weekly basis, it just doesnt happen in todays busy working world. I am fairly good with my water content and the amount that I drink a day but there is definitely room for improvement where my diet is concerned and more so that I am consistent with it, for me it is far easier to take a supplement that is relevant to my skin and wellbeing goals and know I am getting maximum benefits due the advanced nutrition programmes high quality level of ingredients, so I actually see a difference and change in how I look and feel.
So what have I been taking you wonder?
Within the range I have been supplementing ''Skin Omega's'' which contains omegas 3 and 6, studies show these are amazing at boosting brain development, moisture levels within the skin, oh my goodness that pregnancy itch in the beginning drove me insane in my first pregnancy! Hydrates and purifies the skin, I do not have to spend all morning and evening moisturizing my whole body as taking 2 of these a day will reach every single layer from head to toe of my body, and who even has time to do that with a toddler running about? Take the supplement instead! Goodbye dry flaky skin.
I have also been adding ''Probiotics'' to my daily routine. Probiotics comes in a powder formula that you can either sprinkle over your foods or add to your drinks. There are a number of benefits of probiotics even aside from being pregnant but for me in particular I have found it amazing for going to the toilet more regular, it promotes a healthy digestive track and this time round before I had been taking it, I had not been going as frequent as usual in this pregnancy, so its been a godsend for bowel movements!!! Some say it also creates a healthy birth canal ready for giving birth - I'll take that for sure.
I also take every day a multi vitamin, at the moment as you can see in my photo I am currently taking the pregnacare multi vitamin as I will take their breast feeding range after I have had the baby but I usually take Skin vitality 1 which is from the advanced nutrition programme, both of these brands are amazing at brightening the skin, boosting energy levels for me, promoting a stronger nail and also most importantly as it takes a bashing in pregnancy... my hair is sooo much glossier! My hair was horrendous in the beginning and with out taking a multi vitamin I would of had no hope what so ever, I also remember loosing so much after I had Harry, all mums do right? I am hoping by continuing taking the multi vitamin it will reduce the amount that may come out after the hormones have calmed down.
Raspberry leaf tea is a bit of a myth from what I can work out online as I read there is no actual proof it works but for me personally I do believe it works from my past experience. I started drinking raspberry leaf tea around 36 weeks with Harry's pregnancy as I had read it works on softening your cervix and promotes a quicker labour, I don't believe it brings it on because I had been drinking it for well over a month before things started to move. BUT I do believe it it makes things easier, or I was just super lucky! Harry was only 2 day's late, and I dilated fairly quite quickly, I started to get mild contractions around 7am, stayed at home all day, went to hospital at 4pm where it was confirmed I was 4cm dilated, I got in the birthing pool at 6pm and he was delivered and out by 21.02pm. I had started pushing around 8pm which wasn't bad going at all for a first time birth and I only used gas and air through out the duration at my time at hospital so I feel that was fairly good going, I am really hoping its a smooth run the second time round and I get the pool again! I would of loved a home birth but the husband was not having any of it.
And finally my Nutri Bullet; I am no food diet fanatic and to be honest I dont want to be, I love my food far to much and through out the first 6 months of my pregnancies, although I didn't really have any cravings, I have ate pretty much what I have wanted and that has included MacDonalds, Pizza's, Chocolates till my hearts content because it was what I fancied, there was no way after being at work all day, looking after a toddler, running a house, being a wife I was not going to have a bit of what I fancied especially with raging hormones and feel like I had been hit by a truck in the first few months BUT what I have done as I did the first time round, once I reach my 3rd trimester, I do all that I can to make a conscious effort in choosing more of my energy boosting foods because I know I am prepping for labour and a newborn joining our family. I will still have those naughty foods if I fancy them but I will make sure I will have 2 smoothies a day and include super foods and seeds such as spinach, chia seeds, flax seeds, kale, banana's, raspberries, blueberries, frozen blackberries and what ever else I have lurking in the fridge because the reality of is I am almost at the finish line and I want to help myself in having a healthy mind and being the best mummy I can!
