MY SECOND TRIMESTER ESSENTIALS.

Having just entered my 18th week of pregnancy I've discovered a few items and products that have become my essentials that have helped me out over these grueling past couple of weeks! I'm a firm believer in finding bargains and only having the occasional splurge so the majority of these products (if not all) are totally affordable.

1. & 2. Maternity leggings and jeans. I think I speak for many pregnant ladies when I say during the second trimester your old clothes start to feel a bit tight. Sometimes through pregnancy weight gain, the majority of the time due to your uterus growing. It's not great wearing jeans or leggings that cut into your belly - you feel sick, you feel like you need to pee waaay more than usual, you feel like your whole body is expanding; last thing you want are tight bottoms cutting off your circulation! My personal favourites are these MAMA leggings from H&M, they're £7.99, they're not see-through and they are so comfy and versatile - I wore them throughout the whole of my last pregnancy! My favourite jeans at the moment are these maternity Moto black ripped Leigh jeans from Topshop, they're £40 but completely worth the money, especially seeing as most girls during pregnancy (especially the last stages) seem to alternate between the same 2-3 outfits haha, I certainly did/do! The way I see it is when you're pregnant, why substitute style for comfort when you can have both? I find that H&M and Topshop are the best retailers for affordable pregnancy style.

EMILIA'S AUTUMN WARDROBE.

Seeing as my darling daughter has just started wearing 9-12 month clothes I thought it was time she had some new, weather-appropriate clothes. She's a lot more active now and she enjoys going on walks (in her pushchair, haha) and she loves going to the park and going on the baby swings, so it's about time she got some cute, warm clothes!

Right now I'm loving the selection of baby girl clothes in Primark, the pink sweater with the navy polkadot elbow pads was from there and was around £6, very impressed with the quality and durability of this item. The grey socks were part of a pack of 4 or 5 and are from Next and were £5, they are perfect as they are super soft and stay on baby's feet thanks to the roll-top. The faux fur hooded gilet was also from Next, I believe it was around £15, here is one similar. These trusty denim-style jeggings were from Matalan, they were £5 and I find them so easy to pair with anything!

HOUSE PROGRESS // BEDROOM, HALLWAY AND BEAUTY ROOM.

I've recently been doing some painting, it kinda feels like I've been desperate to get the house perfect so I can finally relax and enjoy my beautiful daughter and this lovely weather we've been having - nothing wrong with that I guess. There's still a lot to do, but I'm getting there each month. This month I've painted the entryway and landing, the beauty room and our bedroom.

Before...

THE PROCESS OF DECORATING EMILIA'S NURSERY.

After scrolling through Pinterest for nursery ideas we took a trip to B&Q, Wilko, Next Home and some other shops to get some supplies, then I got to work As you can see the room was previously this ugly (IMO) shade of pink. I detest it so much and there were Disney Princess stickers all over the walls - it needed to go! I started by lining the outsides of the carpet and the bottom of the wall with masking tape and used some old towels to cover the carpet in the surrounding area. The first step I took was glossing the skirting boards to make them look clean and finished - I used a brilliant white non-drip gloss from Wilko which usually ranges from £5-10 depending on which brand you choose. I used a synthetic paintbrush to prevent shedding and long brush strokes to avoid noticeable marks. I allowed a couple of days for the gloss to completely dry and set (even though it says 12-24 hours to dry).

NURSERY IDEAS AND WHICH INSPIRED US THE MOST.

We moved into our new house in early February. As our bub was 4 weeks old at that time and was sleeping ALL DAY I decided that it was time to start decorating the house. I started with the downstairs toilet, then that got old, so I decided to move onto Emilia's nursery. I knew we were going to have her sleeping in her own room by about 6 months so I wanted to make sure that her room was fully decorated and ready for her. (note: I've realized that preparation is key when you have a baby, like down. to. the. hour.) I downloaded the Pinterest app on my phone whilst waiting for the internet to be set up - I became obsessed with it and started to look for nursery decor inspiration.

1. I love this nursery. The grey walls, the basic white furniture and the bright contrasting patterns. I think this is quite a modern nursery and to be honest, this could be a great girls nursery as well as boys. I really love the hardwood flooring along with the grey rug! Not a fan of the shelving above the cot as I'd be scared that things would fall onto the baby, but it does look very nice!

2. Again, I love grey walls, and I love that this is girly but not in-your-face pink princess room. White furniture has always been a favourite of mine, I believe it looks great in any room of the house. This room is very spacious and I think it'd be a suitable room for a child to grow in. I also love the idea of the armchair instead of your usual wooden feeding chair, it gives the nursery more of a comfy feel.