Sophie has her own pregnancy blog at http://www.sparklingpregnancy.com
Here's her first blog entry....
Thanks to Shloer the Sparking Juice drink I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings and general pregnancy tips until I give birth in April. If you’re pregnant (which I’m guessing you probably are if you’re reading this) congratulations!
I am already a mum to Sonny (who is four) and I’ve already noticed that I feel much more relaxed in this pregnancy than I did in my first. It’s just much less stressful when you know what to expect from your body and your emotions and people don’t fuss around you as much.
Saying that the first twelve weeks were quite hard going. I felt permanently yucky, like I had a hang over, so I couldn’t get enough of comfort food. Since that stage has passed I feel back to normal and haven’t really had any cravings except one week where all I wanted was beetroot. I’ve since discovered it’s full of folic acid so there you go!
I don’t like people to treat me differently when I’m pregnant and it’s important to me that I still feel attractive, so this Christmas I made it my mission to ensure I wasn’t the frumpy one sat in the corner. My mum tried her best to persuade us all to go for Christmas at her house, as she thought I might not feel like doing all the work involved in hosting it myself, but I was insistent that I wanted to have the family round mine and give my mum a year off. So, I prepared Christmas lunch for the whole family with all the trimmings. Richard helped too, of course and it was lovely. We spent New Year with family and friends in the countryside and it was fun and relaxed.
My philosophy on avoiding certain foods is to trust my intuition. I think your body is very clever at telling you what it needs. I only buy good quality food so I can avoid any risk of food poisoning and I ration food that I think might be high in mercury like tuna, but generally I go with what I feel as guidelines change all the time. When my mum had me she was encouraged to drink Guinness and eat liver!
For me being pregnant is almost an indulgence as it gives me more time to focus on my music. My favourite part of the album making process is song writing so I’m taking my time and really savouring it. Protecting myself and the baby is the most important thing at this time and being pregnant really does give you the chance to slow down, prepare for the birth and focus on the things you really want to do. One of my top tips would be to try to preserve your social life as much as possible when you’re pregnant as it reminds you that you’re you and not just a pregnant lady! I DJ, run a club night called Modern Love, and have been doing the odd gig too. I’m going to continue to do this as long as possible so I don’t feel defined solely as a pregnant woman. I still have lots of energy so I might as well keep active and happy.
I will be really investing in spending time with my friends before I give birth because when the baby is born the tendency is to go into a bit of a bubble. Be it a relaxing lunch and a spot of shopping, or dinner and a chat over a glass of Shloer! If you’re out and about seeing friends you want to feel great and harness that pregnancy glow to maximum effect. I’m not a huge fan of maternity wear as I find it hard to find things that are fashionable and reasonably priced. My tip would be to buy a few sizes bigger from the high street. Empire line dresses are great because the tightest part is just under the bust (which serves to accentuate what for many of us becomes our best asset!) and flare out over your bump. I put this into practice at the British Fashion Awards in November and opted for a Topshop black mini dress which flared out nicely over my bump. Also the fashion for low rise jeans mean the high street is awash with long line tops which are perfect. I am not a fan of revealing your bump, particularly not in this weather! These sorts of clothes are also great post birth because it takes a while to return to your normal size and these pieces will see you through until your normal wardrobe fits again. My new music is out in the late Summer / early Autumn hopefully, so I’ll be doing everything I can get to get in shape for then. I will let you know how I get on with this in future blogs, although I’m not going to embark on any silly diet and gym plan. I want quality time with my new baby first!
We are all really excited about meeting the new addition to our family. We have chosen a name but it’s a secret! Sonny has always loved babies and has been telling me for a while he would like a baby brother or sister so for him it’s what he expected would happen at some point. My husband (Richard Jones from The Feeling) and I are both busy but we feel incredibly lucky to be able to have babies and jobs, which is in no small part thanks to Sonny’s nanny, Claire, and support from our families. Plus Sonny has always loved coming to work with me and we both think a childhood surrounded by music is by and large a happy thing.
I’m feeling great at the moment (six months in) and my concentration levels are fine so the song writing is ticking along nicely. The hardest part of the pregnancy so far has been before I could announce I was actually pregnant. I’m always a bit cautious of getting coughs and colds when I’m pregnant as they seem to take that bit longer to shake off so I’m dosing up on the vitamins as it’s so cold outside. I suffered from pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy so I am having regular scans at the moment, next one in three weeks!
Until next month…
Sophie x
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