You’re finally 12 weeks pregnant. The dreaded first trimester is over. No more having to make excuses as to why you’re not enjoying a glass of vino on a Friday night, no more pretending you have a tummy bug when you’re really trying to hide morning sickness, and having to wear baggy tops to hide the little bump starting to make your trousers feel a little tight.

Have you had your 12-week scan yet? We know that some hospital trusts are not allowing partners into the room for scans due to covid…. But check to see if you can video call your partner from outside; that way, they can still be involved. Your baby will still be pretty small at this stage, with lots of room to bounce around your womb. If you have a particularly cheeky baby, sometimes the scan can take a little longer for the sonographer to get all the measurements they need. But you will see hands and feet and a cute little button nose! What an exciting time!
Here I added up-to-date guidance for antenatal care for Oxford Antenatal, which supposedly should be the same here too. Really helpful with questions clearly answered: https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/maternity/antenatal/covid-19/

Have you thought about HOW you will announce your pregnancy? Maybe get baby’s older sibling to wear a ‘I’m going to be a big sister/brother’ t-shirt? There are so many creative ways to announce these days. How about lining up all your shoes but adding a pair of booties to the end of the row?
I have found loads and loads of amazing Pinterest boards to give you loads of ideas:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/babycentre/pregnancy-announcements/

You might be starting to decide if you want to find out the sex of your baby… will you hold a gender reveal? Have you booked your maternity photoshoot? How about gender reveal during maternity session and capture it too? So many things to think about!

Have you booked your newborn baby photographer? It is a good idea to check availability for your due date! Most photographers, who are amazing like me :) , get booked up several months in advance. I am no exception, and saying “no” to a new mum is the hardest thing to do! Because we never know when the baby will be coming, we keep our diaries super flexible to make sure we can accommodate the session within the best time frame! Those sleepy poses only last this long. Now that Covid restrictions have been lifted, everyone is getting their sessions booked in fast! So, if your google search says: Baby photographer near me, Newborn baby photographer Dorset, or Baby photographer Wiltshire or your location, or Best Newborn Photographer near me - Send us a message now to see if we still have space left for your due date!

The second trimester is known to be the easiest of the three. Any nausea should begin to subside soon, you hopefully won’t feel so tired, and it won’t be too many weeks before you start to feel little flutters as the baby moves around! Have you started to buy maternity clothes yet? Or are you persevering with the hair bobble hack to expand the waistline of your jeans just a little longer?

Remember this is a good time to start regular pelvic floor exercises…. I know, I know… we all hate them, we all forget to do them…. But do you want to pee when you sneeze after the baby is born? Do you want to go on a trampoline again someday? It absolutely pays to start now, and you will never regret having done them!

As covid restrictions start to ease, have you looked into pregnancy yoga or courses with the NCT? Check out their website to see if there are classes near you. Many expectant mums make friends for life at these groups, and it’s great to meet and share your experiences… and later, your birth stories!

https://www.nct.org.uk/courses-workshops/nct-yoga-for-pregnancy

Baby Photographer covering Dorset, Wiltshire, Weymouth, Ringwood, Ferndown, Poole, Bournemouth, Yeovil and further

The NCT also runs antenatal courses, covering everything from labor and delivery, infant feeding, right through to how to bath and dress a newborn (especially great for expectant dads who have never held a baby before!). They can also help you write your birth plan.

Courses fill up quickly, so it’s a great idea to book early.

Enjoy the next few months! And don’t forget to start taking a weekly bump pic, to see how your body changes as your baby grow. It makes a wonderful memento to make a collage of the pictures at the end!

For weekly bump photo ideas: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/PrissyPrincessProps/pregnancy-belly-growth-photo-ideas/

Baby and children portraiture based in Dorset, covering surround areas (Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester, Salisbury, Weymouth, Ringwood, Yeovil)

Hope you found this at least teeny weeny helpful, if so please do share or leave a comment.

Much love and remember, you definitely got this.

Alma