Early Pregnancy diaries || Week 4 & 5 - When we first found out

Chris and I are so thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first child!! I wanted to document our journey for our own records and for those of you who are also interested. So follow along and let's see where this new adventure takes us. Fair warning, pregnancy can get a bit gross and weird and I don't plan on holding anything back on my blog. So if that's not your thing, proceed with caution. You may learn something about me that you weren't prepared for.

Week 4

I am usually pretty regular when it comes to my periods so I knew something was up when it had been a couple of extra days without showing up.  However I knew that getting such big news, regardless of whether it was positive or negative would be too much for me to receive either before work or before bed time. So we decided to wait a little longer until the weekend. Which resulted in what seemed to be the longest week of my life.
Finally, Saturday 4th November rolled around and it was the day of the test, and boy was I nervous.  I saved my first wee of the day in a throw away container and waited until I was completely awake and ready to receive potentially life changing news. We took the morning to bask in the great unknown, Chris cooked us breakfast, and then we took the plunge.

This was the first pregnancy test I have ever felt I needed to take. As I mentioned earlier, I am pretty regular, but even on those occasions when "shark week" was fashionably late, it didn't worry me. I didn't feel pregnant then. My boobs had become sore and swollen but they have done that almost every month at this time, for years on end with no significance. However this time it felt different and I had a hunch that I would be seeing those two little lines that can flip your world upside down in a matter of moments. Chris and I huddled on the couch with the pre-dipped stick waiting expectantly, upside down, on the coffee table. I was way to nervous to check myself so it was Chris who actually found out first, revealing the result to me with tears in his eyes... "You're pregnant!"

Over the following days we would both randomly pipe up with "Guess what? You're/I'm pregnant!" and "This is crazy" For a planned pregnancy it was surprising how surreal it all felt. Can this really be real? Is this finally happening after 13 years together and at least 8 years trying to imagine it. We had not officially been "trying" but we had not been preventing for the last couple of months either. We nicknamed our little miracle "Spud" as that is the name which Chris suggested for my pregnancy App.

How far along?: 4 weeks + 5d

Gender?: Unknown

Maternity clothes?: Nope

Stretch marks?: No

Belly button in or out?: In

Sleep?: Normal

Best Moment of the week?: Finding out that I am pregnant

Worst Moment of the week?: Waiting almost a week to find out

Miss anything?: Not yet

Movement?: No

Cravings?: No

Queasy or sick?: No

Looking forward to?: Growing this little human

Mood/emotional state?: Incredibly happy

Week 5

Day one of week 5 brought with it a couple of light headed moments, when I was getting up too fast, but they passed without significance. There was an hour of light nauseousness in the afternoon at work but that passed too. My Mum didn't suffer from morning sickness, in fact she makes it sound like both of her pregnancies were a walk in the park. It may be rose-tinted glasses but I am hoping I will follow suit. I know that this is wishful thinking and the dreaded morning sickness will likely wallop me when I least expect it. So I plan to enjoy my meals while I can, as who knows how long it will last. My desk drawer is slowly turning into an anti nausea secret storage unit. Containing lemon and ginger tea, crackers and emergency rations. Time will tell if I need it or if it will actually work.

My brother, his girlfriend and I went for an overnight hike along the Pouaki trap at Mt Taranaki with an Auckland based adventure group called "Got to get out". It was definitely not an easy hike but the great views, laughs and accomplishment was well worth while. Chris wasn't able to come as he had already signed up for a car event that weekend. So I was the only one who knew about our exciting news. I managed to keep the secret but did feel like I struggled a little more then usual as I was starting to feel a little queezy and bloated, but not enough to be sick (although I did gag at one point during the second day's breakfast) but it felt good to be continuing on with my normal plans and enjoying time with friends.

How far along?: 5 weeks

Gender?: Unknown

Maternity clothes?: Nope

Stretch marks?: No

Belly button in or out?: In

Sleep?: Normal

Best Moment of the week?: Experiencing an incredible New Zealand hiking trail with friends

Worst Moment of the week?: Being absolutely exhausted after hiking all day and feeling a little sick.

Miss anything?: Not yet

Movement?: No

Cravings?: No

Queasy or sick?: No

Looking forward to?: Growing this little human

Mood/emotional state?: Tired but happy

Crumbed Baked Salmon fillets || Foodie Friday

Zucchini Bread || Foodie Friday

In this house, we are all about Banana/Carrot/Pumpkin cakes and our allotment plot has been producing more zucchinis/courgettes than we can possibly consume. Cue me looking for new and exciting ways to consume the never ending quantities of courgette. So I tried this new recipe and really enjoyed it. I hope you do too. 

 

Satay Sauce Recipe || Foodie Friday

This peanut sauce has heaps of yummy favour and a bit of a spicy kick. It's super easy to make and everyone can enjoy it.

Ingredients

Serves: 4 servings

• 6 Tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter ( I recommend using a good quality, 100% peanuts brand)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1Tbsp olive oil (for frying)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 300ml coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 juice of a lemon
• pinch of salt (to taste)
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (add more to taste)

(Sauce can be prepared earlier)

Method

1. Fry onion in olive oil until softened in large saucepan.
2. Add garlic, curry powder and ginger to onion.
3. Add peanut butter until softened
4. Add rest of ingredients, simmer, stirring frequently on low-medium heat to let sauce thicken.

Serving suggestion

I served mine with fried beef, broccoli, carrot, capsicum, pineapple and Basmati rice

Our wedding anniversary in Bath || Travel diary

Last weekend we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the last two years have gone. This being said, we took the opportunity to do something a little special and took a trip to Bath, Somerset. A place we had heard great reviews about from our friends. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Filled with good food, activities, sightseeing, relaxing and terrible Bath puns (because we couldn't help ourselves).

We caught the train from Brighton to Bath at 9am, so we arrived at lunch time. We instantly had good first impressions of the city. This was definitely helped by it being super sunny and everyone around us was making the most of it. We took a minute to have a picnic (lovingly prepared by M&S) lunch in a park nearby.

We then loaded up our packs and went to find our Airbnb accommodation. We stayed in the top story of a three level home. Our host, Mary, was lovely and accommodating and instantly made us feel welcome.

Chutney Chicken wrapped in Bacon || Foodie Friday

Being dairy intolerant and becoming dairy-free || Life after cheese | My story

Let's just start with saying, Milk and I are not best buds. I used to think we were, but I am now wiser. I'm not entirely sure if I have always had some sort of milk intolerance, as I used to drink plenty of it as a kid. It wasn't until I hit my late teenage years when things started to change (more than things normally change as a teenager) and it wasn't until 2 years ago that I realised why.