Baby books these days

After shopping around with my husband for ages, I am pretty happy with the baby book we chose. The pockets and case are really nice.

BUT

Why are there pictures of other babies in this book? Who wants that? What is the need for all this frivolous photographs; aren't you supposed to illustrate it yourself with pictures you actually take yourself?!

My Baby Journal Delux, £19.99

I tried to find a baby book without all these stupid pictures and drawings. These are the best I could find. What's with baby books these days?!
My other top choices:

Baby Journal: The Story of..., $14.95

Eric Carle's Very Special Baby Book, £12.99

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Belly itch

After having a good scratch I like to look at my belly in the mirror and imagine Ham is trying to claw his way out alien style. These are the things that amuse me.

But belly itch is not really amusing; it's annoying. All pregnant women get it to varying degrees. Even Michelle Heaton asked for tips on twitter. Celebrities: they're just like us.

As I said in my post about stretch marks: I've tried several different products: Palmers, Bio Oil, Burt's Bee's. They all work just fine. However. What has worked best for me to soothe the itch is either putting coconut oil straight on my belly or using some homemade whipped body butter. Here's my recipe:

1 cup coconut oil (solid)

1 teaspoon vitamin E

A few drops eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil

Put it all in a bowl and whip for 7-10 minutes. I add the essential oil to make it smell nice and the eucalyptus/mint has a lovely cooling effect. If you have very sensitive skin it might be better to go fragrance free. Coconut oil smells good on its own anyways.

Remaginedbydara

***If you get belly itch so bad that it keeps you up at night then talk to your midwife or GP to be safe***

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Practical hippie: Homemade deoderant

People always think I am, well, a bit strange when they find out that I make my own deodorant. My sisters in law definitely think I'm slightly mental.
To me, it just makes sense. I was unhappy with the results of the products I was buying at the pharmacy, so I tried making my own. I won't say it works better than the brand names, but it works just as well and with so many added perks. I get to decided what it smells like, the consistency, and what goes into it. I'm not a health nut but I don't want to put aluminum chloride on the skin right next to my breasts when I am breast feeding.
I got the recipe I use from Keeper of the Home. She's clever, and has worked it out so you can put it in an old deodorant container for easy application. I didn't have any of those so I just put it on like a lotion every day. I ordered most of the ingredients off Amazon and have included links.

1/8 cup arrowroot powder
1/8 cup baking soda

2 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 heaped Tbsp beeswax pellets

8 drops tea tree essential oil

8 drops of whatever essential oil you like

Heat all ingredients in a pot on low until melted. Stir and pour into whatever container you are using and let set. Then end.

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Work it out

I do Prenatal Pilates ($5.09) nearly every day, and when I don't, I wish I had. This DVD makes me feel better, sleep better, and it reduces my back and hip pain by approximately 75%. There's a video on YouTube as well if you're on a budget:

Tracy Anderson has a prenatal work out video (£39.75). I am a big fan of the Tracey Anderson method of dancing it out. Her first work out DVD is a part of my pre-pregnancy collection, and it is fun for a work out. Not as fun as eating a big pizza but you have to do the video to eat the pizza am I right? Suzanne Bowen also has a pregnancy DVD that is well rated on Amazon (£9.00).

I hear that prenatal classes are a great place to meet other mums to be, but I like to do my working out in private and on my own schedule. It may make me a bit of a hermit but so be it. I'll meet people in the birthing classes.

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Mr Worm

Sleeping is hard. 

Whether I had to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes or wake up with hip and back pain, I wasn't getting enough. Grump. I started sleeping with about 5 pillows but I would kick them out of the bed, or have to adjust them in the night. I started looking for maternity pillows. Some are crazy expensive, but there are also reasonably priced ones if you look in the right place. This one by Theraline is just £33.76 on amazon right now. 

I decided to make my own. I took some old felt pajama trousers from Primark, cut the legs off, and sewed them together so they made a long tube. I took some fuzzy material, cut it in a circle, and sewed it to one end. Then I took the 5 pillows I was sleeping with, cut them open, and put the stuffing in the tube. Finally, I sewed the end shut, and VOILA:

My husband calls it "Mr Worm." It's lumpy but it works like a dream. I sleep much better and have approximately 80% less hip pains. Success! 

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