Thursday 18 April 2013

Striving to be a yummy mummy

I'm not a fan of the phrase 'yummy mummy' but it's true that every mum and mum-to-be wants to hold onto who they were before baby and to look their best as often as possible. Almost as common as the 'get your sleep now, you won't get any when baby arrives' comments are the references to how you're body will never be the same and simply brushing your hair will be a luxury.

I've been very fortunate throughout my pregnancy, with no complications or any of the expected aches, pains and swelling most women seem to go through. Feel free to hate me any mums-to-be out there who are suffering morning sickness even at five months! In fact, some people have been kind enough to say that I look great, perhaps better than I have done in a long time. It's true that my skin has been clear, my hair has grown and I don't seem to have put on any weight or water retention, if you ignore my bump (which is pretty hard to do and I'm told it is a very big bump indeed).

I've tried to look after myself as I've always taken pride in my appearance - mainly because I need a bit of help in the form of concealer, eyeliner, mascara and eyebrow pencil to look vaguely normal - and because I haven't really felt unwell or tired over the past 9 months, I've been able to maintain my usual routine.

I have been really lucky and I can't remember how long it's been since I felt as confident in my own skin as I do with bump in tow. I have found it liberating to be able to wear what I want to and not worry about it clinging in the wrong places - wear your bump with pride I say! I think I'll miss having it, particularly as every woman who has had a child says your body is never the same again, but I am going to do my best to not get upset if things take a while to return to some kind of normal. I don't want to be one of those people who can think of nothing more than how many calories they've consumed and how many pounds they are away from their pre-pregnancy state.

If it's useful to any other yummy mummy wannabes, here's a list of the beauty bits and little tricks that I have found to work wonders during my pregnancy:

  • Buy maternity jeans and tights early on - I couldn't bear having anything pressing on my tummy in any way. I also opted for over the bump, not under bump, for this reason. Much nicer to tuck bump in and it's another layer when the weather is cold to keep you snug. Leggings are increasingly a staple as for me, whilst the legs of my jeans were still a little looser than I would have liked, the bump band started to get tight around 7 and a half months.
  • Buy a range of maternity tops but try and wear your current wardrobe as long as possible or buy non-maternity items which have a loose style - I have around 10 maternity tops plus some vests as when bump starts to show, you need extra length plus normal tops will tend to hang at the edge of bump rather than fit around. Other than these, I have worn mostly items from H&M which are looser around the tummy or longer in length because of the style, so hopefully I can still wear these once baby has arrived.
  • Add accessories to personalise the look - maternity clothes are dominated by stripes, which is quite funny when you think about how we normally want to avoid stripes as you never know if it's horizontal or vertical that are supposed to be flattering. To make the most of your maternity basics, simply wear a statement necklace or to show off your bump, go for longer chains. Some bracelets, a cocktail ring and a cute pair of studs is enough to make you feel like 'you' without having to spend ages, or loads of money, trying to create a new wardrobe just for pregnancy.
  • Garnier Moisture Match Protect & Glow - launched a couple of months ago, this is a great moisturiser with a hint of glow about it so you look healthy but not shiny.
  • L'oreal  Matte Morphose Foundation - quick to apply, easy to blend and light enough to not make my face look orange in comparison to the rest of me, this foundation is in my make up bag for the hospital. No mirror required to make you feel instantly better as it's so effective at evening out your skin tone.
  • Soap & Glory Glow All Out - apply over a cheek stain or cream blush to give you a bit of glow (I think it's down to this and not the rumoured 'pregnancy glow' that people have said I look so well).
  • Liptint/stick/gloss - my favourite new product is Rimmel's Apocalips, which I have in three shades' but as long as I have some form of colour on my lips, I feel much better as it helps to add colour to combat my pale complexion.

The photo above shows my main looks during pregnancy - bold colours, simple tops with a bit of detailing (lace, ties or pattern) accompanied with some lippy, nail polish and a few accessrories. I'm in the same pose as Ste has been taking a photo of me every 2-3 weeks in the same spot / from the same angle so we could chart bump's progress. Really pleased that we have as you don't realise how much you change week by week.

The photo on the right was taken yesterday when I was 37 weeks + 1 day for a work thing and i thought it would be one of the last photos of me before bump becomes baby.
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