Hooray for Freecycle!

Was really pleased today to get hold of a free, second-hand (though unused, I think) gym ball/birthing ball via Freecycle today. How cool!

Learning to relax for natural birth

Mr B and I went on a day-long Natal Hypnotherapy course yesterday. It was WONDERFUL! We learned about how the body responds to stress and calm, and how being relaxed during labour will help your body to produce helpful, happy hormones instead of unhelpful adrenalin, and to give birth in the way that nature intended for us. We did some relaxation/hypnosis sessions, and learned triggers for a relaxed state that I can practise between now and the big day. We saw some vidoes of births where the women were using self-hypnosis: the calmness was really inspiring and reassuring. I came away from the course feeling very relaxed and positive about the birth, and I've felt very chilled out all day today, despite a busy day at work. I'd definitely recommend this course for anyone who's pregnant, and I think it would be especially helpful for people who were feeling anxious or stressed about giving birth.

Brands, brands, brands!

Why does everything sound as if it has been packaged and branded? I love the concepts of 'attachment parenting', 'baby wearing', 'baby-led weaning' etc etc, and plan to use these ideas when Baby B arrives. I guess that any idea that is different to the social norm will be given a name, but these names/brands sound as if they are new-fangled techniques, fads or parenting methods that someone has just invented, whereas to me they seem like common-sense attempts to reconnect with what all of our ancestors were doing until very recently.

Maternity clothes

You really could spend a fortune on beautiful maternity clothes. I can't afford to, and it seems mad to spend a lot of money on clothes I will only wear for a short time. It's more eco-friendly to wear hand-me-downs anyway. A friend, who has finished having babies, has kindly given me some old maternity clothes (I shall have to turn up the trousers, as she's taller than me). In exchange, Mr B is going to help my friend's husband get into shape by writing him a fitness programme.

There's a thriving maternity clothes trade on Ebay, where I managed to buy a bundle of 4 tops for £15, and as they don't really look like maternity clothes I'll be able to wear them afterwards too. I bought a second hand swimming costume for 99p - it hasn't arrived yet, so fingers crossed that it's wearable, in which case it'll be the bargain of the year.

Another friend introduced me to the Bump Band (aka maternity band, belly band etc etc). If you haven't come across them, they look like a kind of boob-tube, except that you wear it over your bump, concealing the fact that you are wearing ordinary trousers with the zip undone. I'll use this for as long as I can - they were only £5 each, so much cheaper than maternity trousers. You do get the slightly unnerving feeling that your trousers might fall down at any minute, but so far so good!

Anyone got any hot tips on free/cheap ways of dressing whilst pregnant?