#BlogBumpClub - 38 weeks

Wow! 38 weeks, very nearly there... and I'm looking kind of tired of this week!

I started my maternity leave last week with a brilliant day at Brockwell Park. Wiss bunked off nursery and we headed to the Lido. I can't lie, the water was cold!! But we braved it and once you were in it was wonderful. We ate our picnic lunch whilst shivering to warm up, and as soon as we were dry we got back in again! Swim. Shiver. Eat. Repeat.

We spent the whole afternoon at the adventure playground on the other side of the park, messing around in the sand, before heading to the pub for dinner. It was such a great time with my big little man: it felt like we'd been on holiday, all in one day! I'm trying to make the most of all the time we have with Wiss alone before the baby arrives, and he becomes a big brother.

With only two(ish) weeks to go my 'nesting' instinct has finally kicked in and probably gone into overdrive to make up for lost time. I've painted the blackboard wall in the kitchen (see picture at the top), and have the paint ready to finish our bedroom this week (where the baby will be sleeping too). I've sorted out the wardrobe to make space for tiny baby grows and even tinier socks, which we eventually got down from the loft this weekend. I've even fixed the travel system and re-learnt how to fold it up and down! The hospital bag is on tomorrow's To Do list though...

The husband and I had a day together last week, child free, and we 'did lunch'. Steak frites and a sniff of his red wine, heaven! Names were on our lunchtime agenda and I *think* we have got them sorted. For the moment at least! Sorry, no clues or reveals until the baby is here.

Physically I'm feeling really well and my obsession with ice cubes has subsided. I was surprised by the huge response I got on Twitter when I asked if anyone one else had ice cravings, and even more surprised to find out that it is often a sign of low iron levels. I've had low iron since the start of this pregnancy but the ice addiction really took hold a few weeks ago and the freezer wasn't able to make cubes fast enough! I've made sure I take my iron supplements twice a day and have been alternating between tablets and SpaTone sachets. These taste pretty good and also seem to avoid the other less glamorous side-effects of taking iron, ahem!

This huge burst of energy means that I've found it tricky to find time to blog, tweet, sew or finish my website so apologies but I'm trying to be as zen as possible about this. There will be plenty of time once the baby is here.

Won't there??!

Another Blog Bump Club baby has been welcomed into the world, hello Beatrice Hope! Huge congratulations to Jennie from Edspire. Click on the link to pop over and check out how everyone else is doing and what they are all up to:

#BlogBumpClub - 36 weeks + 4

A very short post this week, summed up in a few pictures. It's all (finally) starting to feel very real now that I've finished work. Eeeeek!

#BlogBumpClub - 35 weeks + 5

Apologies for not posting last week - things have been pretty full on as we are trying to do as much as possible (panic!) before the baby arrives.

Last weekend we decorated our bedroom as this will be where the baby sleeps too. In hindsight, it was a terrible weekend to attempt any kind of DIY, as the temperature was over 30 degrees but Wiss was staying at his grandparents so this was our only chance to get it done. We weren't able to completely finish our Weekend Makeover but the wallpaper is up, all woodwork glossed and 3 of 4 walls are painted. Where was DIY SOS when we needed them?!

I've also been spurred into action (panic!) to get my hospital bag packed, and to actually get some things ready for the new arrival. I have ordered a Bednest, which I am very excited about, I have borrowed a TENS machine, and have bought a nightie and some PJs for after the birth. Totally ready now, huh?!

I finish work next Friday (yay!) so I am hoping to get lots more sorted when I'm off. Plus I have lots of things planned for me to do for fun before Wiss finishes nursery: a pregnancy massage because my back is killing me, a trip to a vintage market, a swim at the Lido, pregnancy yoga, lunch in Whitstable with the husband...oh, and finish painting our bedroom!

Although I would love this fantastic summer we are having in London to continue, the combination of heat and the final stages of pregnancy are zapping all my energy at the moment. I have had to scale back my expectations of what can be done in favour of early nights, and maybe even naps while I can! Plus I am totally addicted to ice cubes at the moment. I know this isn't just weather-related though as I had the same thing when I was pregnant with Wiss, in December!

Lists have become my bible and I have written them out for everything: Things to Buy, Things to Do, Things to Pack, Things to Do With Wiss, Names to Consider (yep, we're still not sure of any of them!) Tell me I'm not alone in this obsession? How organised are you being during your pregnancy? Is it normal to be more 'relaxed' with subsequent pregnancies or should I really be starting to panic? Help!

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Congratulations to Chelle from Chic & Unique and her brand new baby boy! Don't forget to check up on all the other members of the #BlogBumpClub here:

#BlogBumpClub - 32 weeks

A very simple post from me this week as we're on holiday in wonderful Whitstable. Our last holiday as a family of 3! There will be a longer post about the holiday itself and what we got up to but for now, I just wanted to record these moments :)

Don't forget to check out how the other bloggers are getting on over at the BlogBumpClub... Bye for now!

#BlogBumpClub - 31wks + 3

Hooray! My baby is apparently the size of a pineapple this week. Ouch.

Names have been on our mind this week, but as we don't know what gender our baby is any discussions are still quite vague. It was the same when I was pregnant with Wiss - we went into the hospital with 2 girls names (Alice and Florence) and 2 boys names (Rudy and Lewis) and then we just went with what felt right.

We're finding it particularly hard this time to think of boys names that we like as we've already used our favourite! I love the name Lewis - it's not too trendy, it has references to the author of one of my favourite books, Alice in Wonderland and it's hard to shorten. Or at least that's what we thought! My friend's daughter had trouble saying Lewis so she called him Wiss and it stuck straight away. Other names we call him: Buddy, Sausage, Luigi, Weegee... And that's not to mention the nicknames he's called by others: Lollis, Lulu, Louie... So many names already and he's only 4!

None of the names we had before seem to work with us now so I've been trawling through the baby name lists, searching the Nameberry site, even reading all the credits at the end if films and programmes for inspiration but we still don't have any definite ideas. There's still loads of time (!) so I'll keep on thinking, but I'd love to know how you chose your babys' names. Did you go classic or trendy? Or did you name them after someone; famous or family? All comments will be very gratefully received :)

Don't forget to check out the rest of the #BlogBumpClub either on twitter or using the button below. And if you're a pregnant blogger then why not join in too?