Mum to Be Monday #5 - My Baby Shower

Mammy bubbles, myself and bump. xxx

Girls! I'm officially on maternity leave and I'm sitting down to blog for the first time in four months! Hallelujah!!

At the beginning of my pregnancy I had a vision of what the following months of pregnant life would involve and it turned out being noting like what I expected. Taking it easy, saving and exhaustion meant very little time for hanging out with friends so I thought having a baby shower would be the perfect opportunity to catch up with my family and friends before baby arrives. 

I had an absolutely brilliant day and would recommend having one to any expectant mum. It was a great distraction full of laughter and lots of yummy cake. 

You can't have a celebration without cake and boy did I have some cake! My good friends Sarah and Katie who I have known since the age of twelve graciously made me the spectacular cake creations you can see in the pictures above. The cake actually stole the show on the day. The three tier cake was jaffa-cake flavour on top, lemon in the middle and chocolate on the bottom. There was also a separate cake which was carrot cake. Yes, I tried them all! Sarah used the front of the shower invitations as inspiration for her design which turned out beautifully. 

I wanted to treat my family and friends on the day so I had Katie from Nails by Katie & Suzie on hand to do nails. Trying to stay away from the traditional baby shower games that not everyone would be interested in I set up a few cute activities instead. I had a table with plain baby grows and sleep suits with some fabric markers and everyone got to design one for Poppy. They turned out great and will make a lovely keepsake. I got the baby grows from Penneys and fabric pens from the Art & Hobby shop.

Nearly all my friends have children and I wanted them to come along and join in the celebrations too. Seriously who else would help eat all that cake?! There was about ten children as well as a few babies there on the day. To entertain them I purposely had my baby shower in the pre-school I work in so they had many toys to distract them. Teresa, a friend from work also did face painting on the day. I think the kids had fun and some even made new friends! 

I also had a table with a photo album of baby scans from the last eight months. On the same table I had a white tree borrowed from my friend Lorna who used it at her wedding recently. I used it on the day for pink prediction cards I bought on ebay. Everyone had fun filling them out guessing weight, due date of baby and giving messages of advice. I will treasure them forever in a special keepsake box. I also can't wait to see if anyone was close in guessing her due date. 

For fun party favours I had little pink baby bottles filled with tasty treats. They were also personalised using stickers thanking my guests for coming. For food we just had sandwiches, lots of finger food and a sweet table....it was a day of gluttony really.

I was really spoiled on the day and I'm delighted I got to see my friends before baby arrives as I have no idea what to expect once she is here! 

Love,

Sarah & Bump

Mum to be Monday - My Pregnancy Journey

• Pregnancy announcement & 18 week pregnancy update
• Gender Reveal
• 21 Weeks Pregnancy Update
• Baby Bump Painting - My sister-in-law

Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil

Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil, €9.99 100ml

I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to try out the latest product from the Irish brand Waxperts before it hits the shelves in February. 

If you haven't heard about Waxperts Wax check out my experience post here. The same brand brought us Waxperts Ingrown Hair pads which have been a huge success with women all over the country. The pads are great for preventing and treating ingrown hairs on any area of your body. As well as that they are fantastic for eliminating those unsightly lumps and bumps. They cost €9.99 for forty pads. I personally couldn't live without them, especially during the summer months. Anyone else counting down to summer?! 

Back to the fabulous product as pictured above! After the winter months your skin will be calling out for this product. Its formulated with lavender which will aid in nourishing and replenishing your skin after the cold weather. 

The packaging says Heavenly lavender based body oil. Nourishes, soothes and hydrates. Suitable for after waxing. Divine after bathing. I've personally been loving it for my bump as I've just popped recently hitting twenty five weeks and I want to do as much as I can to reduce stretch marks. I have also loved the effect it has had on my legs. Before they were dry as I totally neglected them recently and now they are soft and silky smooth. 

It's also light and absorbs fast so you aren't left with an oily residue. It instantly hydrates your skin and leaves you with a lovely lavender scent, perfect for use at night time to aid sleep. It also claims to help heal irritated or sun scorched skin during the summer months. 

I think Waxperts have created another must have product. I really like the fact that it saves your bacon all year round. Hydrating during the winter and soothing during the summer. 

You'll be able to order online on their website www.waxperts.ie and salons nationwide will also be stocking the Beautiful Body Oil. 

Love,

Sarah

Mum to be Monday #4 - Baby Bump Painting

You may or may not have heard of bump painting before. I myself only found out about it two weeks ago. While on Twitter I seen @JoJosPartyTime mention that she does it with a link to her Facebook page. I checked out her page and had to get in touch immediately to find out more about it.

It's something I would love to get done myself closer to my due date. I thought of my brothers partner Danielle as she is due at the end of January and this would be a lovely way to celebrate her wonderful bump before my nephew Alex arrives.

Jo Maher was very friendly and easy to talk too, we communicated through Facebook chat and organised a date. She come to Danielle's to do it which meant mum to be didn't have to leave the house. The whole experience was something else, really enjoyable and I'm glad I got to photograph it. I'll let the photos do the talking now!

         

Is this something you would think about doing yourself? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Prices vary depending on your location and it takes just one hour for Jo to work her magic. It really was a nice experience, chatting away in a relaxing environment surrounded by family members. 

Check out Jo's page JAM Face & Body Art over on Facebook

Love,

Sarah

Mum to be Monday - My Pregnancy Journey

• Pregnancy announcement & 18 week pregnancy update
• Gender Reveal
• 21 Weeks Pregnancy Update