2 Week Post Partum Update!

Hey guys!  Long time no blog...I know.  What can I say, life with a newborn baby is definitely very time-consuming and keeps me busy!  It's becoming increasingly difficult to find the time to get dressed, shower & put make-up on let alone blog or record YouTube videos!  But we are getting there...I've heard the first six weeks are the hardest and once we get into a little routine we should be fine :)  I'm not complaining, right now I'm just enjoying my time with Emilia...she is worth it!  Thank you for bearing with me these past few weeks as I get back into the swing of things! 

Emilia is officially 2 weeks old today.  She is gaining weight rapidly and I am such a proud mama!  She now weighs 7lbs 13oz and is growing out of all her newborn sized clothes.  Breast-feeding is going well, although still sore on one side.  Emilia latched on really quickly and is a great little feeder so I'm happy I kept going!  In the beginning there were definitely times when I felt like throwing in the towel...in the hospital I cried it was so painful and sore :(  So when the public health nurse came and weighed Emilia today, and described her weight gain as "phenomenal" for a breast-fed baby it was wonderful!  

Here are some pictures from the past week.  

Wednesday 

Our first mommy/daughter OOTD! ;)  Emilia's outfit is all from Carter's, I'm wearing Mothercare maternity jeans, LoveClothing Chelsea boots, a check shirt from Heaton's and carrying the Elizabeth Storksak changing bag.

Thursday 

Some morning cuddles...I love this time the most :)

Just woken up from her nap!  Vest from Babies R Us.

Another super cute outfit!  This one's also from Babies R Us.

Friday 

On our way to TV3 Studios in Dublin to appear on the Morning Show...you can totally see Emilia in her car mirror in the background, ha ha ha!  Her first road trip...she slept the entire way and all through the interview as well!  She's such an easy baby!

At TV3 Studios!  Just out of hair & makeup!

Saturday 

We went out for lunch in Costa Coffee...enjoying my first coffee in months!

Snug as a bug in a rug!  All tuckered out ;)

Sunday 

I absolutely love this outfit!  It's from Carter's.  For some reason though, she always seems to have explosive poops in it...ha ha ha!

Monday 

Pink & brown today!  Top is from Primark and pants are by Carter's!

Today 

Wearing some pretty adorable socks!  I have no idea where these are from...they were a gift.  The pants are from the Pumpkin Patch and the hoody is from Babies R Us.

As for a weight loss/belly update, I've lost a total of 17lbs so far and 5lbs this week putting me down to 124 -- only 7lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight!  This is all down to breast feeding...I haven't been dieting or working out.  Today was the first day I really exercised properly since giving birth (we walked all 6 dogs in 2 laps...it was a full workout!!).  

I'm fitting into my looser pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans and pants, and am still using my Bamboo Belly Bandit which I absolutely love!  I'm also really enjoying my nursing tank tops by Boob...they are so comfortable, made from organic cotton and very stretchy.  They give great coverage when breast feeding because of their two panels on the inside so you're never totally exposed.  I bought these in purple (seen above), raspberry, turquoise and black!

I hope you guys enjoyed this long update!  Let me know if you want me to do more posts like these!  

Stay Stylish!

Emilia Tommasina is Here!

I'm back!!  And I had a baby!  Ha ha ha :)  

Finally after a lot of waiting (and pushing!) Emilia Tommasina is here.  And we love her to pieces!  She is absolutely wonderful in every way and we are so happy that she has joined our little family!  As cheesy as it sounds, my life feels so complete now that she's here.  I honestly love being a mama...it's given my life so much purpose and I feel like this is what I was meant to do.  Is that mushy enough for you guys?!  Sorry, ha ha :) 

Emilia was born on the 11th of September 2012 at 4:24pm and weighed 7lbs 3oz.  I will probably do a more detailed labour & delivery story post but in the meantime, if you haven't seen it already you can watch our labour & delivery video here!  Giving birth was an absolutely amazing experience and I still can't believe Jonathan and I created her!  She is such a beautiful gift :)  

Here are some pictures from my Instagram which were taken over the last week.  Here we are in the hospital wearing our matching outfits!  From Baby Be Mine Maternity :)  I also had a matching gownie & pillow case!  All the staff at the hospital loved them and wanted to know where they were from!

Waiting for her grandma's visit (wearing the cardigan she knit her!)  It's sparkly & pink -- she loves it :)

One of my favourite pictures of her.  Her eyes are so beautiful!  She was born with hazel eyes...amazing :)

Sleeping!  She is such a good baby.  She barely cries and just sleeps, feeds & smiles (especially when she's about to poop!  Ha ha ha!)

Pretty in pink!  This was her going home outfit.  She looks like a marshmallow!  

Friday - three days later...ready to go home! 

The best pjs ;)

And here's the belly 1 week post partum!  This is what everybody has been asking about!  I honestly don't have much to say or report other than the fact that I am breast feeding and wearing the Belly Bandit.  Not dieting or even exercising yet...just eating normal and drinking lots of water!  I haven't given much thought to post partum weight loss or dieting yet, it's kind of the least of my concerns at the moment.  Emilia has taken top priority and that's probably how it'll stay for the next couple of weeks!  (Well, okay that's how it'll stay forever but you know what I mean!)  I am concentrating more on feeding her and giving her what she needs...I feel like if I started cutting calories it would be a bad idea and I would just get burnt out.  I'm also feeling super hungry since breast feeding so I'm just listening to my body and doing what feels right!

I did weigh myself when I went in for induction last Monday and my total weight gain this pregnancy was 24lbs (141).  As of this morning I now weigh 129 so I still have 12lbs left to lose before I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight!

Don't mind all the creases & lines on my belly...ha ha ha!  They're from the Belly Bandit!  You can see my little stretch marks around my belly button -- they've faded white and aren't as noticeable anymore.  My linea nigra has also faded a bit, but you can still see it!  

And here I am wearing the Belly Bandit!  I got the bamboo one from JellyBean, who are the official distributors for Ireland.  So far, I absolutely love this and although I've only been wearing it since I returned from the hospital on Friday I already see a difference.  As well as tightening my tummy and helping the uterus to contract it actually works as a great support while breast feeding and gives better posture.  If you are curious about sizing, I would ask to be professionally fitted.  I had no clue what size I would be (although the website does give measurements for reference) but the owner of the boutique where I got it fitted me and recommended the XS.  You need it to feel super tight and snug for it to work properly!  

Also please ignore the milk stains...ha ha ha!  I'm leaking like a drippy tap ever since my milk came in, but thankfully the Belly Bandit is machine-washable!

Stay Stylish!

My Week in Pictures #15

Monday

Starting the week off with Emilia's due date!  I always wondered what my app would say once this day arrived...now it says "You are past your due date", ha ha how depressing!

Green Thai chicken curry with wholewheat noodles for dinner -- Jofus cooked this in hopes that I would go into labour!  It was really good but no such luck ;)  She's still cooking in there! 

Tuesday

Painted my nails in Butter London's Saucy Jack -- embracing the darker colours for autumn!  I actually really like this colour...I think I need some more reds!  

Gettin' my hair did!!  Check out my lefloof...ha ha ha ;)  It looks more like a bird's nest!

My new hair...I got highlights & some warm lowlights for autumn.  I love it!

Pasta with tuna & peas made by my mom...this was so amazing, I might try to recreate it tonight actually!  I'm drooling just looking at it!

Wednesday 

Greek salad for lunch in Amicus! Yum :)

Thursday

Received this beautiful quilt my cousin made for Emilia...it's so cute :)  It was really hard to get a full picture of it, the elephant is also holding a flower!  I can't believe she made this herself -- I'm probably the world's worst sewer...if that's even a word!!  Seriously though, I think I managed to break every sewing machine I touched at fashion college.  

Rocking some green on my eyes for a change!  I used the Vera Valenti eyeshadow palette from my August Glossybox.

Friday 

At the hospital!  Don't freak out, it's just a non-stress test ;)  Everything checked out for induction next week!

Saturday 

Last meal out before Emilia comes!!  Eek! :)  Ha ha not that we did anything exciting...we just went to Nando's!  I got the veggie pitta with a side salad.

I can only imagine what next week's Instagram pictures will be like!!  It's crazy to think that she is going to be here so soon.  Ahh!  Hope you're all having a relaxing weekend...I know I am!  This could be the last relaxing one I get for a very long time, ha ha! 

Stay Stylish!

Bye Bye Baby Bump OOTD!

Maternity jeans/Mothercare, Tank top/InWear, Cardigan/Vero Moda, Flats/Faith, Bag/Chloé

Watch my Bye Bye Baby Bump OOTD video here! :)

I pinky swear, this is my very last maternity OOTD...ha ha ha!  I know I said that last week but I am now 4 days overdue and we got an induction date for next Tuesday so that's a promise I can definitely keep! ;)  I can honestly say that I'm more than ready to meet Emilia now and although it's been a fun and very enjoyable pregnancy I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with my pre-prego outfits...oh how I've missed them!!  I can't remember the last time I said hello to my beloved GAP 1969 skinnies... *sigh*

This is just a simple outfit I wore to the hospital where I had a non-stress test to monitor the baby's heartbeat, movement, my blood pressure & also any contractions (ha...no such luck I'm afraid!!).  I actually had originally wanted to wear different pants but spilled foundation down one leg of them while rushing at putting on make-up this morning...oops!!  I quite like the way these jeans worked out though, the blue & brown seem to work together!  The necklace was a gift from my dad that he bought me when I was 16 and the pearl earrings/bracelet set were a gift from my mom for my wedding day :)

While at the hospital I also had my last ultrasound to check the amount of amniotic fluid, baby's growth, etc. and everything was fine -- she is just too comfortable in there!  I hope that's an indication of our future mommy/daughter relationship...the way things are going hopefully we'll be besties joined at the hip, ha ha ha!  People always say "daddy's girl / mommy's boy" and while I do think that can certainly be true (for me too!) I still always considered my mom to be my best friend and I really hope that things will be the same between Emilia & me :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  I will try to post as often as I can in the upcoming days - but you can always check out my Twitter/Facebook/Instagram for more regular updates!

Stay Stylish!

Grocery Haul!

Watch my Grocery Haul video here! :)

Want to see what food items I bought this week?!  Here is my first ever GROCERY HAUL!! I decided to do something different from What I Ate Wednesday and instead show you what a regular weekly shop is like for me (well, us...all this stuff is not just for one person ha ha ha!).  Obviously this varies from week to week depending on what we already have in the fridge/food cabinets so bear that in mind! 

I went to two different food shops this week -- Tesco (where we do most of our food shopping) and The Boot's Specialities, an Italian wholesale & retail shop in Cork.  Here's what I got from there: 

Pronto con Gusto Tuna & Peas (x4 cans - Jofus loves these for his lunch!)

Mulino Bianco Galletti (Italian biscuits...yum :)

De Cecco Calamarata pasta (to put with the tuna & peas as my mom did last night!)

Mulino Bianco Camille (little breakfast "cakes" made from carrot, almonds & oranges)

De Cecco Spinach Penne Rigate 

De Cecco Arrabbiata Sauce

Santa Rosa Peach Jam

And here's what we got from Tesco! 

FRUIT

Bananas (eat these every morning for breakfast!)

Blueberries (ditto for me!)

Strawberries (two packs)

Lemons

Nectarines

Red Grapes

VEGGIES

Cucumber

Meli Melo Tomatoes (these are so cute...I love the different colours!)

Red Peppers (x3)

Watercress Spinach & Rocket Salad

DAIRY/DAIRY SUBSTITUTES

Alpro Soya Light Soy Milk (had to get the UHT version as they didn't have the regular ;( )

Glenilen Farm Natural Probiotic Yoghurt - Unsweetened

Grated Mozzarella

Regular Mozzarella (x2 balls)

Light Garlic & Herbs Philadelphia (this is for a recipe I'm making)

Ardsallagh Soft Goat's Cheese 

MEAT/FISH/MEAT SUBSTITUTES

Irish Free Range Chicken Breast Fillets (x6)

Ground Turkey 

Salmon Fillets from The Saucy Fish Co. with Chilli Lime & Ginger Dressing

Canned Tuna (x2 packs of 3)

Linda McCartney Italian Vegetarian Sausages (Jofus loves these!!)

CARBS/GRAINS/BREAD 

The Food Doctor Multiseed & Cereal Pitta Bread

Plain Tortillas (for fajitas & wraps!)

Alpen Light Apple & Sultana Bars

Kelkin Lo-Pop Micro Popcorn

SAUCES/CONDIMENTS etc.

Uncle Ben's Sweet & Sour Extra Pineapple (not the healthiest thing in the world but it's our favourite cooking sauce!!)

Sacla Sun-Dried Tomatoes (to put with the goat's cheese ;)

And that's everything we got!  Oh, we also got some KitKats but I don't eat them so I didn't include them in this haul...that's part of Jofus' chocolate stash!!  Ha ha ha!  I hope you liked this post!  I know it was something a little bit different but I find these interesting when other bloggers do them so hopefully you will too! 

Oh, and Nivea wanted to stop by and say "hi" ;)

Stay Stylish!

August Favourites & New Hair!

Watch my August Favourites 2012 video here! :)

This month I actually bought quite a few new products!  I don't usually buy a lot of make-up...if you're a regular reader of this blog you'll already know that I tend to find something I like and then stick with it.  But this month was an exception!  I found myself gearing up for two things: 1) the autumn/winter season and 2) the labour and delivery...ha ha ha!  I know some people will think it's crazy to even think about wearing make-up when you're giving birth...honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.  I don't feel like myself without make-up and it's like a security blanket or comfort to me, so that's how I'm going to do it ;)  

Here are my first three make-up favourites of the month: 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

I picked this up in the shade Shell Beige.  So far I absolutely love it!  This is not my first time using Double Wear...in fact I used to sell the stuff as I worked at an Estee Lauder counter when I was 19 ;)  It really does stay on all day and doesn't budge.  It's very full-coverage which I like better for the colder months.

Vichy Dermablend in Nude

I received a sample of this in a recent Glossybox and raved about it...it covers every blemish, dark circle and acne scar -- it's amazing!  This is marketed as a stick foundation but I use it as a concealer.  

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent

Not anything exciting but I repurchased this to set my make-up with.  It's super cheap and does a great job...I highly recommend it!  

MaxFactor False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara

I am a huge CoverGirl Lashblast fan but unfortunately you can't buy it in Ireland :(  So a couple of people told me that MaxFactor's False Lash Effect is the very same thing, just with a different name.  I decided to try it out.  So far I really love it, it volumises my lashes & lengthens at the same time.  My only problem is that I got it in Brown/Black instead of Black/Black.  Stupid mistake, but I'll know to check next time! 

Essie Fiji Nail Polish

I wore this to death last month!  I also got so many lovely compliments on it...it is such a pretty colour on short nails.  It's that super opaque palest pink that's almost a white.  Love!

Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

Oh how I love these lip butters!  They are so soft & creamy...they just melt on your lips and make them feel so moisturised!  This shade is very nude, almost to the point where your lips are erased...ha ha ha!  I know that this isn't to everybody's taste but you guys know how I love a nude lip! ;)

Revlon Lipgloss in Bellini

This is such a beautiful nude gloss -- I love it on its own or paired on top of other nude lipsticks.  It seems to me to be a lot like NARS Turkish Delight although I've never owned or purchased this so I'm just guessing.  

Blend-A-Med 3D White Toothpaste

It might seem weird to include a toothpaste in my favourites post but this is really worth raving about!!  It was kindly sent to me by a Polish viewer Ewa who told me how great it was...at first I was sceptical because believe me, I have tried many "whitening" toothpastes that don't live up to expectations but this blew me away!  My teeth have never been whiter!  This stuff really works...so if you live in Poland definitely pick up a tube and try it out!  I am going to try and source it from Polish shops in my town...if not I'm sure you can get it on Amazon/Ebay.

Nivea Oil-Free Moisturising Day Cream

This is a new moisturiser Nivea have just come out with to replace their moisturising fluid which has been discontinued.  I was intrigued by the green packaging (makes a change from the usual blue!) and seeing as oily/combination is my skin type I wanted to try it out! I can definitely say that this is a very refreshing and light-weight moisturiser and I love how it feels on my skin!  However it has a very strong perfumed scent, so if you don't like that it may not be for you!

Dermalogica Age Smart Renewal Lip Complex

This was just a tiny sample from a very old Glossybox that I never got a chance to use!  I've been applying it every night before bed and love the way it makes my lips feel -- very soft and rejuvenated!  It also has a slightly medical smell to it which I like ;)

Vanilla Berry Sorbet Hand Sanitiser 

This was kindly sent to me by an American subscriber after I mentioned in a video how lucky everyone in the States was that they can get Bath & Body Works hand sanitisers in all kinds of fun scents!  Soooo sweet :)  I appreciate it so much, the scents are so boring here in Ireland!  This one is my favourite as I'm a sucker for anything vanilla!

Ojon Damage Repair Instant Restorative Hair Serum

I didn't think much of this when I first received it in my Harrods Glossybox but this month I decided to give it another go.  Because my  hair is so thick and dry I tend to use about 8 drops rather than the recommended 4 and it works much better!  Leaves my hair feeling soft & looking shinier without a greasy/oily residue.

Soap & Glory Flake Away Exfoliator

OMG...this stuff is amazing!!!  I never knew an exfoliator could work so well without drying out your skin!  This one smells like peaches and has shea butter in it so it doesn't leave you feeling like sandpaper.  It is also the most effective way to scrub off tan/exfoliate before a fresh application.  My self-tanner goes on so smooth after using this.

I also got my hair done today!!  I got a half head of highlights with some caramel/warm brown lowlights for autumn put in too...I am so happy with how it turned out!  I also got quite a bit cut off with a lot more layers.

Sorry I look so tired in these pictures...it was a long day!  Let me know what you think! ;)

Stay Stylish!