Severe pregnancy itch and rash kept at bay with acupuncture and Chinese medicine

It has been awfully quiet over here... The last couple months I have been plagued with a severe pregnancy itch and rash... Making me crazy and ruining what was another perfect pregnancy...

After several doctors visits (GP and obstetrician), lotions, creams, scripts, and every remedy recommended by every person I encountered to no avail, I woke up one morning after another bad night and I thought I should try Chinese Medicine... There is a spot around the corner that practices so I booked in that day... The relief was immediate, and has been on an incline over the past few weeks... Tanya has been a magical Godsend... She has single handedly saved my pregnancy...

If any of you know anyone who is suffering with this please point them in Tanyas (or another reputable practitioner) direction!

http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/therapist/whitepeony/8284

Eat Pray Love...

Late, late, late, I know!

I finally got around to reading this book... And I loved it...

It all felt quite fitting that in the past few months I have been doing yoga 4x a week... It was really nice to read something so in tune with my own yogic journey right now...

Sure there is some cheesiness, but if you are on a journey you might just get something out of it... You may not agree with all of the notions, but there is surely something for everyone in those pages...

Worst facial and massage ever...

Last week I was booked in at a beauty spot for a facial, massage and foot scrub... I try to do something nice like this once a month, especially being pregnant, to treat myself because I really don't invest enough time in myself...

So Mum (my partner in treatments) and I cruise along to this spot and are introduced to our therapists, 2 middle aged Asian women names Jane and Matilda respectively... Jane is lovely though a little hard to understand at times and begins my procedure... The massage was two fingers on practically dry skin... I like my massages like I like sex, deep and wet, this was crazy... The facial was similar to my skin routine, it dud make my skin feel lovely, but didn't bring any sort of luxury or relaxation... Finally the foot scrub, my proper beauty therapist is freaking amazing at this, she kills my monthly pedicures, and that is the bar I hold... This foot scrub was just the tops of my feet, like they even needed scrubbing!!! The whole time I am thinking that being a whale like pregnant lady I clearly can't reach the bottom of my feet and here this last is just scrubbing the top... Blegh...

We get out and Mum tells me about get experience which was exactly the opposite!!! Matilda scrubbed from her knees to her toes, top and bottom... I was clearly rolled!!!

Looking forward to my pedi with my beauty therapist tomorrow, know I will be ultimately relaxed and come away with super soft feet!

Toy Story Merch for girls...?

My sweet little girl has an obsession with Toy Story... The only time you can get her to sit for more then 10 minutes, (especially helpful when it comes to mini manis) is if Woody and Buzz are on the screen... Wherever we are it seems that she can spot Woody or Buzz is the distance, out of the corner of her eye... Which leaves me wanting to get her some cute t shirts or pjs or something that she can get excited over, unfortunately Toy Story merch consists mostly of boys wear with our heroes Buzz and Woody, and a sprinkling of girls wear with Jessie... Marley has no problem with Jessie, quite likes her in fact, but it's not manic over the moon love like with Buzz and Woody...

It seems ridiculous that in this day and age, where the lines of sexuality shouldn't really be drawn as pink vs blue, kids characters shouldn't only be pitched at the sex that they are.. Drives me bonkers!

Marley likes Thomas the Tank Engine too, but of course the only Thomas merch you can get is navy blue... She does have some boys Thomas pjs, but with her lack of hair she really does look like a little lad in them, but loves them to death...

Flying Qantas...

Recently back from our Christmas in Cairns, I must comment on flying domestic with Qantas...



I admit that when we fly interstate (usually only a couple trips a year, this year Cairns twice and Gold Coast) we get tickets in the sales and go with whoever has the best deal... Going to Cairns for Christmas was not our original plan, until my pseudo nephew Chae needed his 'Godparents' to attend his christening... So we booked with Qantas as they had the best deal for the dates and times that we required... Tiger was 1/2 the price but flying in the middle of the night with a toddler is just stupid...

It really was a great experience, I was surprised as I haven't flown with proper Qantas in any form for about 10 years... The service was brilliant, all of the staff took time to make sure we were okay, talking to Marley etc... The food was really good, apparently the vegetarian option was only okay, but the meat was good, and it was so lovely to get an ice-cream for dessert... Overall a great flight! If you have the chance or cash to fly with them DO IT!

Santa Claus is coming to town, well we did...

Yesterday we took Marley to get her picture taken with Santa... It was a beautiful plan that came crashing down around us the minute that they opened the door to his room and she started screaming!!! Saving the day was a 'sleeping' breathing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in front of a fake fireplace... She wouldn't have a bar of Santa though, after she had calmed down we decided to go with the family photo option, and she was still eyeballing Santa as he sat next to us...


Post Santa, we went to the Pancake Parlour for a late breakfast, which was delicious! The Jamaican Banana was soooo good! Mark had a short stack with the home made chocolate fudge, it was amazing and crazy rich!!! Marley wasn't interested the minute they gave her a placemat and crayons to draw with, obsessively... Totally satisfied, we checked out the Myer Christmas windows... The queues were outrageous, and unfortunately they weren't even close to being as good as last year... Oh well, a quick trip to Outré, cruise around Melbourne Central and we were done...

So we went to town to see Santa, and it was a disastrous start to a lovely family day...

Scaly babies...

When Marley was an itty bitty baby she suffered some eczema which the good old steroids sorted out... While the rash and redness went, she was left with dry scaly skin on her sides... We have always used QV soapless wash, tried loads of moisturisers and oils to help, but to no avail... My cousin was using Pinetarsol on her son when they visited in October for his itchy bits and though it smells foul, I thought we should give it a go...

It took a long time to action, but for the past two weeks we have been using it in her daily shower/bath and it WORKS!!! Her scales are gone! She is soft and smooth, just the way she entered the world! It's truly awesome! Now she is cured, we might go back to the QV and see if the scales return... Hopefully they don't, but now I know we have a cure should they return, I am far less stressed about it!

Putting up the Christmas tree with a toddler...

Well it's officially less then a month until Christmas, and because December 1st falls on a Wednesday we decided to put the tree up and decorate the house on Saturday... I had definite fears that Marley was going to be more of a hindrance then a help, but she really came through on the helpful tip... Passing the baubles to mummy and daddy at lightening speed, not trying to take the decorations off the tree and being super excited to be involved... Lots of talk about Santa 'ho, ho, ho!' and reindeer, she really was just adorable! Ever since Saturday morning she has been very excited passing through the hallway stopping to point, talk to and look at the 'tree, tree!' with the 'pretty rocks' (jewelled weird shaped decorations) just beautiful...

So overall I would say my fears about putting up the tree with a toddler were completely unfounded! Was a wonderful family morning...

Baking gingerbread men...

Another stormy day paired with another double ear infection and throat infection... Once the afternoon fever came down a little and Marley continuously asked to go outside, I decided we needed a long indoor activity to get us through the afternoon... Baking it was... I cheated by getting a packet mix of gingerbread men because I couldn't have left my little handful alone long enough to measure out a recipe from scratch, Marley didn't know the difference!

She LOVED it! Kneading the dough, wearing our cupcake aprons, cutting out the little men and decorating them... The only lulls were when the dough had to rest for 15 minutes, she went and cooked on her mini oven... And when they were cooking, we had crazy sticker fun, all over her, the couch, the chair and me!

Highly recommended way to spend the afternoon with a toddler!

New babies = shopping!!!

One of the most wonderful things about having a new baby, once you have had the 20 week scan and get the all good, is shopping for the new addition... Here are some super cute items delivered in the past week:


5 pack of Nike onesies, very cute colours/designs... The Jordan ones we bought Marley were a staple of her wardrobe, as I'm sure these will come to be...
Navy blue Ralph Lauren slip on sneakers, with little green polo logos all over them... Beautiful!
Blue Ralph Lauren tracksuit, so soft!

After a mad washing spree and sorting all the clothes that Marley wore and fishing out the non pink variety, our little lads wardrobe is close to complete... Now it's feeling so real, can't wait to meet him!

Relaxing girls night away...

Saturday morning I left my beautiful little family and took off to Merricks beach with 3 of my best mates... It was a relaxing day, can't believe I remembered how to 'relax'...

These days relaxation comes in 10 minute bursts, so an afternoon of a lovely lunch at the 'general store' (yum!), lounging in the garden soaking up sun, certainly wasn't guilt free! So relaxing it was, walking down the beach and hilarious UNO shenanigans, just lapping it up, this might be the last time in ages that I have this freedom... Even though it was hard, thinking about what Mark and Marley were up to, it was the first night I have ever spent away from them both!!! Definitely worth it, especially because I got to come home to this little darling :)

The Walking Dead... Watch it!!!

We finally got around to watching the pilot of The Walking Dead last night... To be honest I was putting it off, watching all of the other shows we download as they came in, a bit scared of this show, even with the great reviews... With good reason, it IS scary! For me...

After being pregnant with/having Marley, my love of horror has subsided... My night horrors increasing to massive proportions, only able to watch scary films through the day, at which time Marley is up, so not really watching horror at all... Being pregnant again I was freaking out at the possibility of being scared weekly should we commit to this show...

I am glad that I gave it a go... It's freaking awesome... It is not only scary, but touching and offers hope that lots of shows we watch don't... The opening scene had me freaking out and then all teary and upset (deeply considering turning it off), in fact in the hour and six minutes I was often upset, but the hopeful moments just make me want more, more, more, to the point where I am spewing we have a game tonight and won't be able to watch the next episode! I might also add that the whole episode had us gripped, neither of us checking anything on our phones, time, email, eBay, twitter or facebook! That's really saying something!

As far as bad dreams go, I had them all night, lots of undead, rotting flesh, guns, fear, but I didn't wake up screaming which is a good sign!

You need to watch it!

Big Girls Bed... Help?

We have officially ordered Marleys big girls bed!

I don't know a great deal about when a good time to put her in it would be? Or how? With a pillow? Still in a sleeping bag with a sheet? Or full doona, but surely she will kick it off and get cold? Aaaaah! Another task that will hopefully be sorted before baby2 arrives, but is pre 2 too young?

Most importantly it's the end of an era... She will be moving out of the nursery, into what was Marks studio... The first time in over 6 years that I won't be housed with 5,000 records, and my little girl will be in a bed she doesn't fit into with super cute Charlie and Lola sheets... In the store I got a bit teary, she was sooooo excited and didn't want to get off the bed, but so small she would only need about a quarter of it! Having kids is a constant flow of change, this is one of the bigger changes...

20 months on...

This month it feels like so much has happened in Marley land...

She has started singing the proper words to songs... Her favourite is 'twinkle twinkle little star how I ... are', okay she hasn't got all the words, but can sing a few bars of all of her favourites...

Mum bought her a tricycle this week and she LOVES it! Riding in the court (assisted) with her neighbours... It's so sweet... It's truly awesome seeing her interact so well with kids older then her...

The potty has been used successfully at her request, which is completely out of left field... I thought we would probably do the potty training thing mid next year, maybe when we got back from the UK... But if she is ready I guess we will go the encouragement route and let her lead the way... Bought her some cute little pants in any case...

So busy busy 20 month old cutie!

Yoga for pregnant ladies, and their toddlers?

I have had a hard time getting to the gym lately with sickness (colds all 'round), tiredness, being busy trying to catch up on things post sick and tired, which has resulted in a decision to get a yoga DVD at home... I started with a proper yoga DVD which was far too hardcore for me, ordered a pregnancy yoga DVD and it felt much better!

I have been doing it 3-4 times a week, a nice amount... Still hoping to get back to gym, at least for body pump (did this up to month 8 of pregnancy with Marley), but in the meantime at least I am doing something... However Marley isn't a fan, she goes from playing with her toys, to sitting on my lap at every sitting pose, to doing her own yoga next to me, to using my body as a racing track for her cars when I am doing the downward facing dog... I must admit that her yoga is very cute, and flexible, it's just so hard to relax and focus when one eye has to stay on the kid!

In any case I definitely recommend checking a pregnancy yoga DVD if you are pregnant and struggling to exercise!

Love and Marriage...

This past Sunday I had the honour of being invited to be one of my longest friends head bitch - Matron of Honour (lucky I am looking quite matronly right now), as she married her soulmate... It was a beautiful day, I forgot how awesome it is to live in someone elses love bubble for a day! The nicest thing about weddings is the loving gaze in everyones eyes as they look on as the bride and groom declare their love... This couple is one I truly believe in and I was just so happy to get to witness such a wonderful day...

The fallout is coming home to a very grumpy lass who is definitely holding a grudge against me for leaving her! Has been a hard day, with exhaustion, grumpy Marley, heavy work, am hoping for a better day tomorrow!

In the meantime I can hold onto the high from yesterday!

Leopard Print Leggings For Kids

Got these in the post today, and I love, love, love them!!! Can't wait to put them on Marley! They are by Rock Your Baby www.rockyourbaby.com.au they have some extremely cute kids clothes, great for 'something different' gifts as well as your own kids of course...

Meltdowns...

Last night I had a dream related to Dads last day alive, I woke up out of sorts, unsure why... Was watching with loving eyes as Marley and Mark had some beautiful cuddles this morning, and left them to play as I headed off to lunch with the girls... Listening to some sentimental music in the car, it all came flooding in, the dream, the special moments Mark and Marley share and that I am having a little baby that my Dad is never going to get to meet...

Meltdown...

I am not a cryer, well not since he died, but I cried all the way to Crickets... Pulled myself together... Within minutes of being in the safe presence of the girls, lost it again... I had a moment like this when I was having Marley, so I guess I knew it was coming, just took me by surprise... I could blame it on a million things, but the fact is, I miss him... And it sucks that he is never going to meet my family...

The zoo and the kid!

Yesterday we took advantage of a day off, beautiful sun and our Friends Of The Zoo memberships and went to the zoo... Truly awesome day, only downside was the influx of school children later in the morning... Marley loved the meerkats, all varieties of monkey, and most of all, the seals... That's when I took that photo, was tough because she was eating her sandwich and in fits of laughter as the seal swam round and demanding 'more more more' every time it swam away... Love the zoo, especially with my little family...

Scan was awesome, so nice to see our little ones functioning heart, brain, fingers, toes and whole little being... Was absolutely stoked on leaving, except that it is already measuring big... There are pros and cons to having big babies, all pros for the kid, all cons for the labour, ouch!

Standing on the tram...

Had to get the tram into the city this morning for a special event for work... Getting on the tram at a ridiculously large 19 weeks, two women get on in front of me, both taking the last two available seats on the tram, one of which was in the 'special needs' seats... Now I am big in the tummy, and it is clear that I am pregnant, I am not at the point that I need to sit because I'm all big and tired... For me, it is more about safety... If that tram takes a fast turn or quick stop and I fall onto my tummy, it would be dangerous to the health of my baby... We go the whole ride with no one making eye contact, G-d forbid that I would request a seat, then a couple people get off right before my stop, and the next people all ask if I want a seat first... This left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, that at least some people aren't pricks...