It’s official: I now weigh more than my husband. I have put on two whole stone, and some days, it feels like considerably more. “I love it when you see a woman from behind and she looks really skinny, and then she turns around and you realise that she’s pregnant,” my husband memorably commented, on our honeymoon, around the time this baby was conceived. Unfortunately for him, he’s saddled with a wife who looks pregnant from every angle, and who is even developing a slight waddle. Some days, especially when it is as hot as it was this weekend, I simply can not wait to be thin again.

My legs and feet seem to suffer the most – as I mentioned, swimming helps – but I’ve also discovered the most amazing cream from BASQ – Soothing Foot Relief. Try and persuade someone to rub it in for you (thank you Andrew darling husband) – it really does make the world of difference. It feels a bit like reverse Deep Heat – literally, one can feel ones feet getting cooler.

However the foot cream doesn’t solve any sartorial dilemmas, and I have to admit to having found it quite challenging dressing for the high twenties. Lunch outside is lovely, but I don’t want to frazzle my extra sensitive pregnant skin. So I’ve been wearing tunics and ponchos over my maternity swimsuit when I’m in the garden, else over a maxi skirt when I leave the house, and they look very pretty and quite elegant – certainly elegant enough to go right through to an evening drinks party or barbeque. My current favourite poncho is from Issa, but I’ve noticed some from Lotus London which are really beautiful.

The heat is working miracles on my sweet-peas, though! I planted them on the balcony outside the nursery earlier this year, hoping that they’d be flowering when the baby makes his appearance, and so scenting his room (and indeed all our other rooms.) I genuinely believe that if I watched them, I would be able to see them growing. Certainly, they’re developing at a much faster rate than the sitting room blinds, which I failed to even look at all weekend . . .

…  Dior Boots, an Armani dress, Burberry trench all tied together with a Ferragamo bag and Louboutin shoes……no we’re not describing this season’s must have’s for Mummy; these are just a few of the latest designer items that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s 4 year old daughter Suri Cruise has been spotted wearing!

The mini fashionista in the making seems to have effortlessly inherited her mothers label loving dress-up genes, with proud Dad Tom Cruise stating that Suri gets her fashion sense from Katie.  Lucky Suri has been seen toting her very own Ferragamo bag, an exact miniature replica of the one Katie carries…..the time alone that must be spent in planning mini-me co-ordination is impressive!

But it’s not just Miss Cruise who has been papped matching her starry parents;  the celebrity trend for re-creating Mummy’s or Daddy’s style is an ever increasing craze with the likes of Brad Pitt & Angelina, Madonna , Jennifer Lopez all having been spotted co-ordinating with their kids…

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We’ve selected striking his and hers celebrity ensembles and recreated  their style in mini;

Mrs Beckham : she may be the matriarch of a brood of handsome boys, but we think if Victoria did have a girl, that she would enjoy being head to toe matching outfits to her famous mother, in this case a gorgeous Aqua dress by Torres, and accessories to match.

Johnny Depp’s individual style has won him ’best dressed man of the decade’ (and the most beautiful many times over). Below we have put together his trademark look with attitude for little son Jack …

36 weeks and the tiredness is really beginning to take hold. This, my increasingly busy toddler combined with my total obsession to get the house spick and span, get the nursery ready (which until today has been under a cloud of dust sheets as the house is being painted) and trying to work is totally exhausting me.

Last night I went to bed dreaming about bedroom curtains and rearranging the nursery again! This is much to my husband’s amusement who thinks the nesting period is rather funny and totally bonkers too. I do remember frantically trying to dust the inside of my bedroom window at the end of my last pregnancy when a friend rang up who laughed hysterically at my out of breath chatter while I continued to dust and talk at the same time…… bonkers.

My last-minute frenzy to get everything ready has left me on a mission to stock up on all the gorgeous baby treats and products I swore by last time. The first thing I will be investing in is Burts Bees Buttermilk lotion; it is heavenly, delicious and kind to your baby’s skin. Even my mother, can’t get enough of it and took a bottle in her bulging suitcase all the way to Abu Dhabi just to make sure my sister’s baby boy would smell of it too. Nursing bra’s are next on my list (a boring job, please note leave your toddler at home) you have to be measured properly and they really aren’t that attractive either, but Elle Macpherson’s range is pretty and doesn’t make one feel like you have a plaster stuck to your chest.

Style in pregnancy is difficult, but not impossible if you invest wisely. I don’t go down the maternity clothes route unless it’s something I would actually wear if I weren’t pregnant. I live in dresses and my staple black maternity leggings, or fake tan legs for when the sun comes out (Xen-Tan is the best) and I accessorize with a whole load of jewellery. Long necklaces and my new Carolina Bucci little Girl Charm bracelet are my must-have pieces… I get so many comments on them; it’s a canny distraction from the bump!

Now, off to the midwife for a check-up. I always measure just under the required amount per week, so let’s hope I am on target today – must stick out the bump!

I don’t know if it’s because I have a cold, or because I’m approaching 30 weeks and am feeling the size of a baby elephant – either way this week is seeming more of a struggle.

Before I became pregnant, I told myself that I was going to be one of those people who didn’t put on excess weight, who would look chic in high heels throughout (see my last blog entry!), who would keep up with the exercise routine, etc. etc. etc. . . . .

Well, I did actually manage to carry on with a pared down gym routine up until about three weeks ago. I then realised that my continuing to go was becoming increasingly pointless as the trip became increasingly token. (Also, my leggings finally split, due to the extra inch or so on each thigh, and I’ve never enjoyed investing in clothes to get sweaty in.)

However, I have re-discovered swimming. And, at the moment, I LOVE swimming – the pool is the one place my body mass feels manageable. The effect is lasting, too – I sleep better, my ankles get less swollen . . . It is also, according to my midwife, really helpful for positioning the baby correctly in ones womb (though this is dependent on the stroke that you are doing: breaststroke good; backstroke less good – one needs to be leaning forward.) The only major hitch with swimming is that my skin is suffering. It’s got dryer anyway, due to pregnancy, and I don’t imagine that chlorine is helping. But I’m sure that I’ll find a moisturiser to combat that tiny problem FYI I’m considering Mama Mio’s Super Rich Body cream as it’s designed especially for mums & hopefully does what it says on the box) – it really is tiny in comparison with the benefits.

Meanwhile, the baby in my tummy is figuring out his exercise routine . . . oh my goodness he’s active! Sometimes I can actually see him moving – it’s so exciting, and makes the weight (and the wait!) all worthwhile.

Congratulations to super model mum Claudia Schiffer who gave birth to a baby girl, her third child with British film director Matthew Vaughn. Mother & Baby are said to be both doing well, and the new arrival to their family arrived just as the latest edition of German Vogue hit the stands featuring Claudia posing  pregnant on the cover.

In a recent interview, she said: ‘I used to work every single day and travel round the world. I worked weekends and I never took one second off.  When I met my husband I said, “You know what, this is important. I’m not going to work weekends any more” – and when I had kids, I became even more careful.’

We have bedroom curtains! They were up almost the minute my last blog went live – never has my husband reacted so quickly. I ought to admit, at this point, that the blinds for the sitting room are still not in place, and that the fault lies entirely with me, as I haven’t finished making them yet. Shamefully, I started them in January. However I am determined that I shall finish – and this is the first weekend in ages that we haven’t either been away or had people staying, so I have time.

Last weekend was a friend’s wedding, which was wonderful and amazing and she looked beautiful and I wore a silk-jersey maxi dress from Issa (thank God for Issa – the dresses are so flattering to the bump), and at which I realised that my five inch gold Gina heels are definitely going to have to be retired until after I have given birth. It is flats only from now on. (Which I believe is what is advised anyway – vanity made me believe that I could be different. . . . )

On an entirely different note, may I suggest that everyone finds a copy of the June issue of German Vogue – the whole issue is dedicated to a heavily pregnant Claudia Schiffer. She is naked on the cover, and Goddess-like – I find it truly inspirational. Inside are several shoots with her in clothes, further proof that fashion and pregnancy are far from mutually exclusive (discounting extreme heel heights . . . .)

Britain’s new First Lady and mama-la-mode fan Samantha Cameron stepped out in a beautifully elegant hue of royal blue for yesterdays momentous occasion… Effortless style that’s impossible not to admire, and will certainly keep Michelle & Carla on their toes in the leading lady style stakes!

27 weeks into pregnancy, I have a serious bump, and friends now greet me with “Wow – you’re huge!”
I’m still, happily, feeling full of energy, despite being somewhat sleep-deprived.  That last is due to our not currently having bedroom curtains (a slightly sore point between my husband and myself:  he somehow sleeps through bright sunlight, and therefore doesn’t see them as such an urgency.

But generally, the longer days and warmer temperatures have come as a huge relief, not least because my winter coats no longer do up, and I’m truly sick of maternity tights.
However, as we all know, an extra layer is still an imperative, and I have rediscovered my collection of jackets – all of which still fit, because my arms and back have remained the same (my thighs are a different story . . . )  The silk-jersey empire line dresses on which I have been reliant since Christmas (almost all by either Anne-Louise Roswald or Issa) still work – although I’m having to wear a size bigger due to rib expansion.

And by adding one of my favourite Chanel bought-at-a-sample-sale jackets, and a large cotton/ wool mix scarf, a la Kate Moss (as pictured)/ Alexa Chung/ countless other celebrities, I like to think I manage to look both chic and not totally unfashionable. (The achingly hip fashion director of Vogue Russia would beg to differ, but I refuse to squeeze myself into a leather jump suit just to please him!) On days when I don’t have to look quite so smart, I’m wearing a long skirt and then layering camisoles (Velvet do good ones – they need to be long!) and cardigans under, again, the jacket and scarf combination.

On another note, being 27 weeks and therefore knowing that this baby inside me now has a fair chance of survival – even if it decides to make its appearance now – has made me more relaxed about buying and receiving baby clothes.  While I haven’t actually got any yet, several friends have told me that they’ve started looking, and I’m looking at the  Marie Chantal range with an increasingly avaricious eye.

Meanwhile, our flat is under numerous dustsheets as my husband and I are painting it.  Slowly.  In fact, the walls of the sitting room have been several shades for the past week or two as we attempt to find the perfect very pale grey.  My immediate priority, however,  is quite definitely getting the curtains hung in our bedroom . . . .

I am thrilled to introduce you to our much awaited new MLM blog, where along with keeping you up to date with maternity fashion, style tips, exciting new products and news, we will be introducing our fabulous mum-to-be guest bloggers!

Our lovely guest bloggers will be sharing their individual journeys of juggling busy lives whilst seeking fashion & style whilst pregnant in weekly posts First up is Conde Nast editor Fiona…

Summer is neeeaarly here! Yes it may still have a little chill in the air but we’re embracing the chance to shed our bulky winter wear in favour of seasonal brights and take the opportunity to go outside and enjoy some of the delights the cities outdoor spaces are putting on to celebrate the glorious weather we (hope to) have. Maybe catch a play in Regents Park, or visit the Jazz festival in Greenwich park, all of which make fantastic days out for grown ups…but what about the little darling?

As much as we’d enjoy a nice afternoon enjoying the soulful sounds of Stevie Wonder in Hyde park we don’t think that watching mummy belt out a tunefully challenged version ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ makes much fun for the little ones.

Well don’t worry if you want to get the kids involved in some fun outdoor activities, there is a mass of child friendly festivals being lined up this summer.

This May Covent garden will be holding their Annual May Fayre and Puppetry festival. Bringing together dozens of puppeteers for a colourful, and hugely entertaining afternoon.  The day starts with a parade around Covent Garden led by the Superior Brass Band, followed by a special church service – with the legendary Mr. Punch in the pulpit – and then a full afternoon of folk music, maypole dances, clowns, jugglers and puppet shows not to mention workshops to get the kids involved.

Why not visit Blackheath for the Bike and Kite festival. Look out for aerial tricks, demonstrations and kite ballet performances. As well as the kite displays there are kite-making workshops, stalls, sporting events and a bike arena where stunt riders and MAD mountain bikers put on a pedal power display.

Clissold park in Stoke Newington will be the venue for this years lollibop festival, billed as the ‘big bash for little people’, Lollibop will host Jarvis Cocker DJing a very special set for the young & young at heart. With story telling, circus performances in the big top and Tonnes of fun, interactive workshops to get stuck into, with everything from hula hooping to bodypopping as well as drumming, salsa and street dance this is a guaranteed VILP (Very Important Little People) pleaser.