I'm a full-time mummy

I was offered this awesome maternity product for my review and I'm so glad to be given the opportunity to try it out! As I read through the product description, I thought to myself, "Wow! This product seems cool, I mean, I could use it throughout my pregnancy and after!"

Description from the product page:

"* Useful at every stage of your pregnancy:
1. First trimester-Continue wearing your skin-tight jeans by wearing them unbuttoned and held up by the Bella Band.
2. Second trimester-Bella Band holds up too-loose maternity bottoms till you grow into them.
3. Third trimester-Bella Band prevents your belly from pushing pants down.
4. Post-pregnancy-Bella Bands hold up loose maternity jeans as your body shrinks back into shape. They also do great to hide that postpartum tummy when you lift up your shirt to nurse!
5. Fold into two to use band as a tube bra.

* The Bella Bands are worn over the unzipped/unbuttoned area, on the outside. Wear over your belly or fold into two for a more snug fit.
* One size lasts throughout your pregnancy.
* Made of nylon spandex."

A bit of info about Maternity Exchange, the wonderful sponsor for the Bella Band:

"Maternity Exchange™ seeks to make maternity wear shopping a guilt-free, liberating and fun experience. We are the first maternity rental store in Singapore that carries luxe international maternity labels like Liz Lange, Japanese Weekend, Belly Basics, Duet Designs, Arabella B and Belly Button. And the best part? You won't have to pay through-the-roof prices for them. We know you want to look fab, not fat, during this fashion-challenged time, but stylish and affordable maternity styles are sadly lacking.

Add to that the fact that your body is constantly changing, and you're probably even more unwilling to pay top dollar for clothes that will only fit you a couple of months. With the flexibility of renting, or buying in our store, you can have that expansive (and not expensive!) maternity wardrobe filled with luxurious designer and high-quality maternity wear."

The packaging of the Bella Band that I received...

Bella Band sizing chart, I requested the size 2 for myself.

There are 9 colors to choose from and in the end, I opted for the White one as I think it would be easier for me to match it with my clothing. Now a couple more pictures on the Bella Band for you to look at...

That's my toddler's hand touching the Bella Band's soft materials...

The printed details and washing instructions in the inner layer of the Bella Band.

REVIEW #1: OVER TIGHT PRE-PREGNANCY JEANS

Yikes!! I can't even zip my jeans!

Wearing Bella Band over my tight jeans...

Can you tell my jeans are unzipped?

I tried out the Bella Band on Sunday, attended church service and my toddler's Sunday school and have no problems whatsoever with it. It feels great knowing I can still wear my beloved pre-pregnancy jeans (which I always wear to church on Sundays) and to think that I'm actually walking around with my jeans unzipped (gasp!) and yet looking normal and oh-so-chic with the maternity band... AWESOME!!

REVIEW #2: OVER LOOSE PRE-PREGNANCY SHORTS

I have to tell you firsthand... I love, love, love this short pants of mine!

I bought it 10 years ago, wore it throughout my 1st pregnancy, and even had to take out the string at the waist as my belly expands. And now, with my 2nd pregnancy, I find that the pants are a bit too loose for me. I have kept it in my closet for a few months ever since I got pregnant and with Bella Band to review, I decided to give it a try over my loose short pants. And what I think of it? It wraps and grips the loose part nicely and hooray!!! I can wear my short pants again!!!!

REVIEW #3: AFTER MACHINE WASH

Of course after trying out the Bella Band over tight and loose clothing, I have to test it after machine wash. I was wearing the Bella Band for about a week and finally decided to part with it so that I could throw it along with my other laundry into the washing machine to test out the material after machine wash. During then, I had to sulk be content with doing without the Bella Band while waiting for it to dry.

The moment it was dry and ready for use, I immediately wore it over my short pants (again!) and ahhhhhh.... nice... love, love, love the soft materials over my preggy bump! Oh, of course, after machine wash, Bella Band's material remains the same, the width and length are not affected in anyway and the colors remains the same. Wonderful!

I also want to mention that thanks to Bella Band, when I comfort nurse Ben at night, I am very satisfied as it keeps my belly warm and protected. Before this, I had to use the blanket to cover up my tummy when I nursed Ben.

My Verdict? I love this product! I can use it over loose clothing, tight clothing and even at night when I'm comfort nursing my toddler (yes, I may be in my 2nd trimester but I'm still nursing my toddler!)

The only thing that I don't like about the Bella Band is the edges of the label which was sewn on the outside layer which at times scratches my skin. I feel it'll be better if they just print the label like how they did for the details and washing instructions on the inner layer.

You can purchase Bella Band from Maternity Exchange website.

As a bonus, Maternity Exchange is offering a 10% off online purchases of Bella Bands for my blog readers. What you guys need to do to redeem this 10% discount is just simply quote my blog name (I'm a full-time mummy) under the "Remarks" entry during check out and pay via credit card or Paypal. The relevant discounted amount will be credited back accordingly. Please note that only payments via credit card or Paypal can enjoy this discount.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a free product by the sponsor in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

Alrighteyyyy, we are cruising into the 6th month of my pregnancy now! Updates for this month since my previous status updates in pregnancy at month 5 are as follow:

#1: This baby is STILL a SPICY BABY!

I'm still wolfing down spicy food at month number 6 though lately I've also been eating more sweet stuff... like chocolates, cakes, doughnuts and stuff...

#2: Weight Gain

I have gained 3 extra kg for this month, making it to 52kg now. Even the doctor said this the first thing when he looked at my current stats compared to previous month stats, but then he went 'Hmm... still OK, we will continue to monitor'. Uh-huh... I think I should slow down the weight gain as I remembered when I was pregnant with Ben, my 2nd gynae advised us that in order to have a natural birth, I should maintain my weight gain to less than 56kg (or maximum 11kg from my pre-pregnancy weight)

#3: Gynae check-ups

We're still continuing on our check-ups at the hospital where I gave birth to Ben 2 years ago. During this round of check-up, we tried out the 4D ultrasound machine again and still, I am not able to see with my own eyes the gender of Spicy Baby. He or she is always on his/her sides and closing legs... what is there to see? Though again, the doctor and hubby repeated their own predictions, I still choose NOT to believe them until I see with my own eyes... so ladies and gentlemen... gender = unknown yet... Spicy Baby's weight as of now: 576gms which doc said it's normal range.

Also, I will need to go for glucose test in the next check up, it was a routine thing according to the doctor for pregnant woman at her 7th month to do. We are planning to take the test at our family doctor instead of at the hospital as I need to wait about 2 hours to take the blood test. The routine goes something like this:

#4: Breastfeeding during pregnancy

I mentioned in the previous month update that I think my breastmilk production has been reduced to almost nothing. If not mistaken when I was about 21 weeks pregnant, my BM has stopped but Ben is still suckling like nothing changes. But I can tell he's doing so for comfort nursing  as he only suckles me when he's about to go for his daytime nap and bedtime at night (each time around 10 minutes to half hour duration - depending how playful he is) But these few days lately I have noticed little signs of my BM coming back.

So yeah, I do hope that we can go for tandem nursing when the baby is born. And I hope that I could make tandem nursing works!

#5: My itchy belly?

My very itchy belly during month 5 has tapered down, thanks to my ermm... quite irregular use of J&J baby oil. Sometimes I forgot to apply it after I took my bath but nowadays, I make an effort to do my best to remember to apply it. So, I'm happy to report that itchy tummy is not that itchy anymore!

(*** NEW!) #6: Childbirth Fears

New thing to report this month... I've been reliving memories of giving birth to Ben, I can actually think back the contractions and labor pains moments before I pushed Ben out of me... whoaaaa... I wonder how will it be like with Spicy Baby?

Of course with Ben, I didn't even know my contractions started already until I was on the way to the hospital (was supposed to admit myself to be induced due to low amniotic fluid) and counting from 1cm (midnight) to 10cm, it took me 4.5 hours to get Ben out. I was wheeled into the labor room at 2am+ (was at 4cm  then) and by 4.30am, Ben was out!

And it doesn't help with people around telling me that subsequent births will be wayyyyyyyyyyyy faster... gulp... of course, I do want my delivery to be fast and over as soon as possible but I am kinda paranoid of ermm.. giving birth in the car on the way to the hospital?

So, question to mums with more than 1 child:

Can you share your experience of giving birth to your second (and subsequent if any) child? Like was it much more painful? Longer? Faster? More painful than the previous one? Anything?

So there you go, updates as at 6 months pregnancy... have a blessed week and thank you for reading!

Question: Is it wrong to walk fast?

Rephrase question: Is it wrong for a PREGNANT woman to walk fast?

I have always been a fast walker all my life, pregnant or not... I find it hard and TIRING to stay and/or stand still at one spot ... because of that, I have just gotta keep walking and moving.

I remembered during my college years, I was waiting for my best friend at this shopping mall (for our shopping date) and she was half an hour late and by the time she arrived, I've already walked the mall a few rounds and seen everything!

Then there was this incident which happened 2 years ago - it was about 6 hours after I gave birth naturally to Ben, I went out from my private room looking for my husband and my newly born Ben (both were missing!) and I was as usual... walking fast my usual pace... Within 10 steps, I immediately heard a scolding voice from the reception area and I saw 2 nurses peering out at me and repeated their scoldings with REALLY ANGRY-DEATH-THREATENING FACES...

"Hey, you just gave birth! Don't walk so FAST! Later you will bleed again!"

And I stopped right there and stood still thinking "What? You mean walking fast could make me bleed again? But I feel fine!"

Nevertheless, I've got more important things on my mind (looking for my hubby and baby!) than to stand there and counterargue with the nurses.. so I just slowed down and walk slow like a tortoise SLOWER... which is REALLY tiring for me... In the end, I found both of them in the bathing room, with a nurse who is showing my hubby how to bath and clean Ben.

And then earlier yesterday morning, hubby dropped me off at his brother's workshop (near the market) to buy some food and I got down and started walking ermm... FAST my usual pace and again... I heard "Whoa... don't walk so fast! No need to rush!" from one of my brother in law's colleague. Hearing that immediately reminded me of the incident above which happened 2 years ago...

I mean, it's not like I'm running or causing my pregnant bump to bounce up and down... Sigh... is it wrong to walk fast?