So our last minute holiday turned out to be amazing after all!  We only had one day of rain, which was a wonderful relaxing cosy day anyway.  Oh, and no major disasters happened or emergency hospital rushes (a la Mrs Cameron) so that was a relief.   In fact we had such a lovely time in Salcombe, we decided to extend our holiday by two days and so drove up to Cornwall to stay in the new and amazing eco friendly Scarlet Hotel.   It is an adult only hotel, so there were no kiddies running around (plenty of time for that!), with a spa, library, beach location and a wonderful restaurant.  In fact there were 3 other pregnant women staying at the hotel at the same time as us who obviously all had the same idea!

 

I am now back at work and have just been to London fashion week.  I have to say that at 29 weeks pregnant I was definitely the roundest person there.  I did manage to even impress myself though, by making it to 16 shows.  Seeing the Spring Summer 2011 collections was so refreshing.  Fashion hasn’t made us smile much in the last few seasons, with designers keeping collections ‘recession safe’ showing blacks, greys and camels, so hurrah for a jolt of colour for next season!  The Spring Summer collections will be in store from January, just after I have had

the baby, so I will probably (hopefully), be able to fit into them!  I have my eye on a Christopher Kane (which was my favourite show) fluoro orange dress, an Antonio Berardi lush floaty dress with silver cropped jacket, a beautiful bow front white skirt and top by Mulberry and a bright pink pleated shift dress with flat sandals from Nicole Farhi.

 

It is difficult to imagine how I am going to get into these clothes as I have gained almost 12 kilos already (the average weight gain is 11-16kg by the end of the pregnancy) and with 11 weeks to go, I am definitely at the upper end of the scale.  My lovely (if slightly tactless) colleague pointed out to me today, that every time she looks over the desk, I am eating, which is probably true, but still, is there any need to make me feel worse?  On the plus side, this comment has only added to my determination to shed the pounds post pregnancy and regain my size ten figure.  

 

My usual pre pregnancy fitness regime (of taking a light run on the treadmill whilst watching TV in the gym) won’t cut it somehow.  No, more drastic measures need to be taken.  I have decided to sign myself up for Boot Camp – which is military style intensely focused cardio and performance-based workout – where you can burn between 600-800 calories per session.  Sounds good to me!  They run sessions on Hampstead Heath on Saturday mornings (husband can look after baby), which I can walk to and from, so that should take care of an extra couple of hundred calories.

After breastfeeding, running around after a newborn and Boot Camp, I am bound to shift a few of those kilo’s – and ultimately fit into the beautiful Spring Summer pieces I have my eye on.

Landed just in time for the Autumn wardrobe shift, our beautiful new range of luxurious maternity lingerie is perfect for making you feel just that bit more glamourous as we all start to layer up for the big chill.

 

The newest addition to our best selling Nougatine range by Amoralia, is the delicious Midnight colour way – totally perfect for a touch of sophisticated elegance in your maternity & nursing wardrobes., it’s delicate lace, bow detailing & easy open clips ensure the bra suits perfectly for both pregnancy and nursing.

 

The new-in Cupcake Maternity & Nursing set is ideal for feminine comfort & style, with that little extra lift, in lovely black lace and lined in super soft microfiber, paired with the matching briefs it makes for a pretty and flirty look.

Back in stock –   our best selling range of ultra comfy and practical lingerie for for mums to be.

Nearly Nude’s range of curve loving underwear will help shape away any unwanted lumps and bumps while providing maximum support.

 

The slimming slip style fits comfortably around your bump whilst accentuating your waistline . This slip also features our two in one breast support system to ensure you are supported while still feeling totally comfortable. Designed to fit just above the knee it is an ideal length to go under almost anything in your wardrobe. Perfect to wear under any casual or formal dress that requires a smooth line or that needs additional support.

 

The bed time bra is ideal to wear under your pyjamas or on its own in summer, featuring special bust and stomach  supports, with no underwires it’s divinely soft to wear to bed for extra hold.

The Bedtime Bra can even be worn during the day as the most conformable camisole you will ever wear.
Feel feminine all day & night long in the Bedtime Bra.

Congratulations to Penelope Cruz who announced this week that she is expecting her first baby with her partner actor Javier Bardem.

 

The gorgeous Sophie Dahl and Jamie Cullum  have also announced they are expecting their first child later this year.

In a statement issued by the couple, they are said to be ‘delighted’ by the news of the pregnancy.

The model-turned-TV-chef and the jazz musician were married in a secret ceremony earlier this year.

 

Lily Allen proved to be a yummy mummy in the making as she showed off her growing baby bump on the red carpet for the UK premiere of Tamara Drewe.

Lily looked a picture of pregnant perfection showing off her  protruding  bump in a long, black, flamenco -inspired gown .

Lily who is due to give birth next yeat has been keeping her bump under wraps for the first few months of her pregnancy after “living in fear” following a tragic miscarriage in 2008.

Lily tweeted: “It’s ELLE magazine’s 25th birthday issue this month. There’s a party to celebrate but I can’t go. Sorry ELLE . It’s the premiere for my mum’s film Tamara Drewe so I’m going there instead.”

Rethinking traditional wardrobe choices, I want to clue you in to the cornucopia of fashion opportunities tucked away with bikinis and sunvisors. I, who detest la piscine, am perenially drawn to swimwear shops.

COVER-UP CACHE A distant cousin of ready-to-wear, swimwear is home to explosively colored, blouson friendly apparel. Less flashy and far less expensive than ready to wear, these no- name bathing suit “cover ups” can do double duty as pregnancy apparel. Filene’s Basement is filled with tunics that feel like Matthew Williamson and bejeweled linen caftans that smack of Tory Burch. Marshall’s swirly, candy colored Muu-Muu was a dead ringer for Versace.

Sholto is coming up for four weeks old. Which also means that it is four weeks since I had more than three hours of sleep at any one time . . . While exhaustion is accumulative, I do feel that I am approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. Taking advice-that-suits from Gina Ford and The Baby Whisperer, and with the invaluable help of both my husband and my mother, Sholto and I are certainly developing a pattern, if not a routine, to our days. There are moments when I have to take a deep breath (I was carrying him past where my handbag was sitting when he managed to be sick both over it and into it) but equally we’ve managed to achieve things, too. We’ve been out for a walk every single day since we came home from hospital. We’ve been shopping: Smythson’s (Sholto is writing his thank you notes on their adorable ABC cards; he has received so many presents and I do feel that it’s important that he should learn good manners – and good taste – at an early age!), the Matthew Williamson sample sale, and, on a more pedestrian note, Marks & Spencer, for microwave ready meals for me. We’ve been to the Serpentine Gallery (he didn’t wake up) and to watch graffiti artists under the Westway (he still didn’t wake up – art appreciation is obviously going to have to wait.) Most amazingly, my husband and I managed to go out for lunch at our local tapas restaurant, with Sholto in his Bugaboo beside us.

 

I’m not yet a size 10 again, which is disappointing, as I fantasised that my body would just ping back (the same way that I thought I’d go from svelte to Angelina Jolie-pregnant-earth-mama without the ‘is she fat or pregnant?’ stage in between) but, rather like everything else concerning having a baby, it was a symptom of my naivity. However, I am en route: I lost a stone immediately (admittedly everyone does) and have lost just over half a stone in the four weeks since then. There is still a stone to go. But I brought out the Spanx on the two occasions that we’ve had friends over for dinner, and our guests swore blind that I looked exactly as I did pre-pregnancy! (I should mention that they’re very, very good friends, and that my Yves Saint Laurent black patent belt tells a different story, one involving my waist still being 4 inches bigger than it was. even with the Spanx . . . ) It would help if I cut down on cupcakes from the too-close-for-control Hummingbird Bakery – and I’m going to have to, for the Christening is booked for late October, and I am determined that I will wear the Erdem skirt and jacket that I wore as my going-away outfit for my wedding; it will be our wedding anniversary, so it seems appropriate.

 

My mother, who’s deeply into natural cures and ‘not rushing things, darling’ (she even heals the animals at home with crystals, to the occasional chagrin of my sister, who is a vet)  has been reading up on what I should be eating.  Despairing of my addiction to ready meals (no preparation! no washing up! they’re edible with one hand while breastfeeding!) she has been making sure, when she’s around, that I eat lots of prawns and lots of chicken, along with brown rice and plenty of vegetables. But despite all that goodness, my

body is still showing occasional signs of post-birth suffering.  For instance, my skin has become alarmingly dry. So the minute Sholto is down in the evening I’m straight in the bath with Mama Mio Body Buff, followed by Mama Mio O-Mega Oil, and O-Mega Wonder Balm on my elbows, knees and cuticles. Thank God I stocked up! (And I knew that someone else would sort out the food if I failed to . . . . ) 

 

Finally, I have one very important tip for this immediate post-partum period: unless you live right next door to a drycleaner, and are happy to spend thousands with them, don’t wear Chanel (or indeed anything else that you care about and that can’t go in the washing machine!)

 

P.S. In the excitement that is Sholto, I clean forgot about the sweetpeas. I’m ashamed to say that they have died. Fortunately I seem to be a better mother than I am horticulturist.

Following my 20 week scan I visited myobstetrician for a routine check up, clutching my scan results with pride and keen to tell him that we were having a girl!  He skimmed through the results and noted my low-lying placenta.  He says he needs to check this out.  I obediently hop on the bed and after having my belly prodded, poked, tapped and measured, he went into detail of the risks.  One of which is that I could possibly (only possibly) have a bleed and should this happen I am to go straight to the hospital.  What?  Why didn’t anyone tell me this before? “But we are going on holiday in a few weeks time”, I say, trying to convince myself that it is not that bad. “Not a good idea” he says matter of factly, “You need to be in the country within easy reach of the hospital”.

 

Oh.  I had not expected that!  We had planned this one last holiday pre arrival of the baby, to the South of France.  We found a beautiful boutique hotel on the beach, I had bought my St Tropez appropriate beachwear (beautiful petrol blue Amoralia two piece swimsuit, oversized sheer throw on shirt, Chloe thong sandals…), and I had started to apply L’oreal’s Nutri Summer Moisturising Lotion to build up a natural looking tan.  Disappointed, but not wanting to argue or disagree with the expert, we swiftly cancelled the flights and hotel.

 

What do we do now?  We haven’t had a holiday all year and we have booked two weeks off work!  We decided to take the two weeks off anyway and have the first week at home in London, organising baby stuff, researching cots and prams, finding a maternity nurse (proving impossible as none want to work anywhere near Christmas), researching local nursery schools etc etc.  This is what we started to do this week, although two days in and even as I write this, my husband is calling out from the other room.   “I am bored…this must be what retirement feels like” and threatening to go back to work tomorrow!
For the second week of our holiday we have booked into the beautiful South Sands Hotel in Devon. Granted, it is a four hour drive from St. Mary’s Hospital in London but at least we can just get in the car and go, should anything drastic happen.  The weather forecast for next week is hardly St Tropez like (rain, rain, rain), so it will be cosy beach walks in our wellies, hot chocolates and games of scrabble.   But for now, I need to go see to my fidgety husband, and somehow get him out of the house.