Dedicated to my husband

Two years ago, on 30th September 2011, Bear and I got married on the most beautiful Autumn day. I can easily say it was one of the happiest moments of my life ♥

Bear;

Your love and affection towards me and this family gives me reasons to look forward to each day. Thank you for the happiness and joy you have brought me over the last two years.

Here's to a life time together, and to never taking each other for granted!

Happy anniversary my darling,
I love you

Always yours,
Rina
XXX

The joys of pregnancy ;-)

Bump today in a tubigrip, at 24 weeks 4 days 

Lately I've been experiencing pain in my pelvis and pubic bone. So much so that it has been affecting my everyday life and stops me from doing things such as turning in bed at night, getting up from sitting position etc. I am having real problems sleeping (obviously good practise for later!) as I just cant get comfortable in bed. I called my very helpful obstetrician, Mr Fernando at the Lindo Wing, and he immediately referred me to a female physiotherapist.

So, yesterday I went to see her at St Johns and St Elizabeth's hospital in St John's Wood, and after a lot of poking and pushing and pulling, she confirmed what I already knew - I have Pelvic Girdle Pain, also known as PGP.

I was told to put frozen peas wrapped in a towel and put it on my pubic bone several times a day to easy the pain and reduce the heat from the inflammation. She also gave me this tubigrip (see pic) to wear daily to keep my pelvis together. That, together with my nose bleed, puffy ankles and now frozen veggies between my legs... where is this all gonna end? LOL! Pregnancy is just so sexy, isn't' it?!

Sneaky snoozing pic by hubby

"Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." Elizabeth Stone

Friday family dinner

Dover sole with caper butter , new potatoes and spinach at one of our favourite local fish restaurants in Little Venice.

Sent from my iPhone 

Today...

Sean had his first professional piano lesson today, with Miss Hiroko at school (although he's had several with his grandma before). We later practised his homework at home, then play-time and silly games on Photo Booth for the rest of the afternoon :-)

For lunch I cooked a chicken Thai green curry using diced chicken breast, coconut milk, curry paste, lime, bamboo shoots and sugar peas together with this carb free pasta (texture not great though but good for the waist line!).

On the school run I was wearing a white long ribbed knit jumper with black sleeves from Primark with my Prada boots.

Its great to be alive!

Started off this glorious morning with a power walk around Regents Park in all its early morning glory..

And the extra bonus was I had no pelvic pain at all for a change :-)

Then my boys came to meet me for breakfast outdoors in the autumn sunshine, where we discussed the fact that its now 17 weeks left until we get to meet our baby girl ❤

Side pose and Gucci Soho

My gravity-defying baby bump at 23 weeks, and my new handbag with gold hardware, the GG stitched at the front and a tassel :-)


Hope you all have a lovely Friday and a fabulous weekend 

C
xxx

• 
  

The last supper

Maternity top from Seraphine

Yesterday evening we indulged in Greek delicacies at a local restaurant called Hellenic, as it was Mum's last night.  I really love having her around, and am sad to see her go, but thankfully she'll be back again in 4 weeks for my brother's graduation ceremony ♥ 

Brunch at Cecconi's

Table for four (Gerry is missing in pic) plus one baby, at Cecconi's today .

With Kat, who nowadays resides in Dubai, back in London for only a few days - we arranged a get together at our fave spot in Mayfair, cackling away as we always do LOL!

Sent from my iPhone

Good bye Summer - Hello Autumn!

Today Autumn definitely arrived to the capital, with only 17 degrees outside & a slight chill in the air, I immediately dug out my fur gilet, wedge trainers and floppy fedora hat :-)

Sent from my iPhone

iPhone Images (as of last week)

From top to bottom: lunch on St. Christopher's Place,  Dinner on the water, Erik carrying a sleeping Sean on Grosvenor Square Mayfair, Drinkies @ Skylounge with Erik and his new love John, Morning coffee in Pret Marble Arch, Bear engaging with Andrea's mum @ her 70th bday party, Proud parents David, Andrea & little Freddie, Chocolate Brownie and vanilla ice-cream for dessert at Summerhouse, Grandma & Seany strolling hand in hand in Portman Village, John & Mum on her first night, in Avista Restaurant

Pregnancy stats

Bump from different angles, at 22 weeks


- Nosebleeds and stuffy nose

- Restless nights - oh how I miss sleeping on my back!

- Really hard to carry boxes and other large items with a big bump blocking the front of me

- Itchy stomach

- Heartburn 

-Random aches and pains as my uterus is growing, but worst is the pubic bone pain 

- Urine and blood pressure both good at antenatal appt this week

Hope everyone is well and having a great day - we're going to a 70th birthday party xx

Progress report

Today I went for the 20 weeks anomaly scan. I took my Mum along, to share the experience with me. I was so thrilled when she arrived yesterday so she could come to this appointment :-) It took roughly 40 minutes and the sonographer examined the following:

eye sockets, the nose and checked for cleft lip

Our daughter's head shape and structure was looked at (severe brain problems would be visable at this stage), and the abdominal circumference and thigh bone was measured

The spine

The abdominal wall

Her heart, valves and the major veins and arteries that carry blood to and from her heart

 stomach

 kidneys (checked for TWO of them, and that urine is flowing freely to bladder)

 arms, legs, and together we counted all 10 fingers and 10 toes! 

We were also shown the bum and genitals (see pic below)

Gestational age: 21 weeks 4 days

An excited but very nervous mama!

Nothing beats the intense feeling you get when you see that little person on screen, that little life you created that is growing inside of you. I could just stare at this image for hours!

Although the main purpose of the scan is to check that the baby is developing normally, they also confirmed the gender, and as this pic shows - it's very clear that we indeed are having a girl :-) 

We left the Lindo Wing very happy with the knowledge everything is well with my baby girl - what more could one wish for?! 

Strolling back home, along the Paddington Basin

Last of our holiday snaps

Our little jester ;-)

This was our second visit to Casa Dell Arte, having stayed in 2011 and enjoyed it so much that we came back. 

The hotels main outdoor bar perched in a stunning 120 year old palm tree and served iced delights and other goodies

It is situated in a beautiful bay just far enough from the noise and nightlife of Bodrum but near enough if you do want to go there to sample the experience!

La vie est belle

We really like the fact that the hotel is a very non-touristy with mainly Turkish upscale clientele and very few English people 

Our sea view suit had a massive raised Jacuzzi with amazing views

Tick Tock,  it's cocktail o clock! 
Good thing about a muslim country like Turkey is that they do mean non alcoholic drinks and fruity cocktails 

 A wooden deck with sun loungers and a non-sandy beach is ideal when you have kids

My jewel

Highlights of the Turkish food includes the shared mezze platters, grilled sea bass and my favourite shrimp casserole 

Sun, sea, sand and sex appeal!

The setting of this place is like a small village with the sea as your backyard

The location makes it the perfect way to read, nap, and sunbathe just inches from the water

Sean's favourite lunch in the heat was spaghetti with only a little bit of butter

Father and son on a kayaking adventure

West meets Easts

Breakfast is a scrumptious display of fresh local foods, and I usually choose an omelette and salad for my healthy days (not that many though LOL!)

Sean was very popular with the girls!

 

Pool Paradise

Dressed up and off to the beach restaurant (Gonca Balik), which was only 150 metres away and is a fantastic rustic seafood dining experience that had us return several times

The hotel can arrange a baby sitter for £25 per hour with very trained and lovely staff who normally runs the art classes for kids during the days

Works Wonders!  Moroccan Oil Deep Mask treatment in my hair that I leave in for the sun to dry, and then later rinsed it out at the end of the day 

Sean and Bear ventured up to the roof top of the hotel to check out the spectacular views

We were usually the first down for brekkie as we were still on UK time and the Turks likes to have a lie-in :)

My loves

Drawing back the curtains in our room and sliding open the bedroom doors was a pleasure each morning with warm air rushing in with a smell of the sea :-)