Fashion Maternity | Bodycon Pencil Baby Bump style

Welcome to the fashion world of bodycon dresses! Yes, the art of dressing your baby bump so that it doesn’t show while your figure is flattered by clever use of colours or prints! Fashion maternity is serious business nowadays with amongst others, pregnant celebrities in the public eye keen to look at their absolute best as their size and shape changes with the onset of impending motherhood.

Today I chose Teresa, a cute, chic, maternity summer dress, pencil cut that just gives me the perfect pregnancy fit I can wear to the office or with clients. A soft coffee shade with a white leaf print in the most forgiving, supportive and comfortable fabric, it is one of my workwear and daywear wardrobe favourites. Which baby bump style is your favourite? A pretty pencil, or an appealing A line? Let me know with a comment below!

Zoe xxx

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Maxi skirts for summer

I was so looking forward to the new maxi skirts for summer from the latest collection that I jumped straight into this gorgeous little number the moment it was available, and I wasn’t disappointed! A beautiful black skirt emblazoned with a large floral design full of colour, this maxi is certainly a versatile piece. It can be teamed up with a simple short sleeve Tee & biker jacket for a day out or dressed up with a black blazer like the Monica suede jacket and a pair of sexy sandals and clutch for a special evening out!

Red Sandals – Kurt Geiger
Suede Clutch – Zoe Alexander

Zoe xxx

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Fashion Maternity Dress – Alysha

Here’s to a summer stunner sporting my baby bump style choice of fashion maternity, the Alysha pregnancy dress! A gorgeous combo of white and bubble print, teamed up with my favourite white cropped leggings that will take you through the whole nine months and post-partum! Alysha can be worn with or without leggings when you want to show off your lovely tanned pins!

What do you think? Let me know how you wear your baby bump style fashion maternity.

Shoes: Kurt Geiger Handbag: Franco Sarto

Zoe xxx

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What are the typical third trimester pregnancy symptoms?

It’s funny but this second pregnancy has never really seen me recover my more normal energy levels, unlike in my first pregnancy. I suspect that the additional stress of looking after my daughter, running a new business and annoying complications of gastric flu, various colds courtesy of my daughter and that dreadful itchiness I had during the second trimester have taken their toll on my energy reserves! Mind you I am carrying an extra seven kilogrammes (16 pounds) around with me which in itself is pretty punishing!

I rarely sleep now at night finding the bathroom visits have increased in frequency to once every one and a half hours! Is it really possible for somebody to pee that frequently?! Incredible! I often find myself flagging during the day or bursting into uncontrollable yawning fits, not the ideal scenario when you are conducting meetings and you are trying to focus on every aspect of the discussion!

Now on a recent trip to Cathy, my adorable midwife, just prior to this latest episode of gastric flu, I found out I was a little low on iron. So immediately I dived into spinach related recipes from one of my favourite chefs Jamie Oliver, as we have organic veg from the garden! We even treated ourselves to some beef from our lovely butcher last week which we sliced into steaks and had medium rare over a few days! Anything to boost the iron levels naturally, although I think I will still have to take supplements.

Perfect braised spinach – Jamie Oliver (photo David Loftus)

The other annoying clash of symptoms is the constant hunger that almost immediately stops the moment I have barely a couple of mouthfuls of a meal, only to return an hour later! Combine that with frequent heartburn and indigestion and you have all the symptoms you need to be in “party mood”! NOT!

Still, the blessing is that I have only 9 to 10 weeks left before my little boy Alexander arrives, bring it on! I can’t wait to see him. My daughter insists he will be a mini-mummy, brunette, brown eyes and maybe curly hair, the opposite of her, who has taken daddy’s genes, blonde and blue-eyed! The most interesting point for me is how alike they will be in character given their birthdays will be barely a week apart!

Well that’s enough to be going on with for the moment. What exciting third trimester pregnancy symptoms are you experiencing at present? Please let me know, share your comments below!

Post by Adriana xxx

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Suede Maternity Dresses

Lucia is the latest release from Zoe Alexander, an elegant and stylish maternity dress made in the softest and most strokeable luxurious faux suede. Here we see Lucie Trinco, mum of two, designer and owner of Il Tutto luxury baby bags sporting the luxurious Lucia in slate grey.

…thanks for the fab dress, felt a million dollars all day…

I have had comments all day on how much people love it – that’s got to make your day.

Zoe xxx

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Gastro-enteritis and Pregnancy

I have to say I did my best to avoid coming into contact with my daughter’s infection. But to no avail because nearly a week after she recovered the 24 hour vomiting bug I succumbed to the very same virus myself! It was the worst thing I have ever suffered. Symptoms started in the morning with extreme nausea and stomach refluxing which rapidly moved on to diarrhoea and de-hydration. Gastro-enteritis and pregnancy are not a good combination. I felt so dizzy and weak, it was terrifying as I hadn’t believed it was the same virus my daughter had caught.

Acute gastroenteritis is the rapid onset of diarrhoea less than 14 days previously (with or without nausea, vomiting, fever, or abdominal pain). It may be caused by infections and also by non-infectious toxins in food. I naturally assumed it was too long afterwards to be from my little one. Pregnant women are more vulnerable to complications from gastro-enteritis, so have a lower threshold for investigation, admission and treatment. After six hours of worsening symptoms, I had to go to hospital. I was so worried about the effects on my pregnancy.

Hospital Maternity Day Care

I was very reluctant to go to hospital but I had to know how my little one inside was doing. We reported to Maternity Day Care and here met the adorable Lyn Roberts. What a truly lovely mid-wife she is! I was hooked up to a monitor and for that first minute I was scared. Lyn didn’t seem to be able to find a heartbeat and I couldn’t feel any movement. Then suddenly we all heard the familiar thump, thump, thump! JOY! I have never felt so relieved in my life.

Following a selection of checks and tests along with samples of blood etc. it was clear that baby Alexander was fine and I had well and truly caught my daughter’s gastrointestinal virus. Treatment was to be straight forward – a salt and sugar solution to be made up at home and sipped steadily over the next 48 hours to replenish all the liquids lost and a basic diet of bread, crackers and water. Exciting?! Needless to say I have nearly made a full recovery now, some four days later.

The most important thing to remember is when you are pregnant, any unusual symptoms or abnormal feelings should be reported to your mid-wife, doctor or medical practioner, so that an expert can give you the proper advice.

Post by Adriana xxx

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Preparing your toddler for the arrival of a new sibling

When we asked our daughter Zoe what she wanted, she was adamant she wanted a “yittawl sister!” Of course following the second pregnancy scan we had to break the news to her that in fact she was going to have a little brother, whose name we had decided was to be Alexander (pronounced Ai-yix by Zoe!).

The news so far

So, to date we have encouraged Zoe to interact with her younger brother through her senses, touching Mummy’s tummy, feeling “Ai-yix moving”, giving Mummy’s tummy a big kiss, to say goodnight to Alexander to name a few! We have involved her when choosing some of Alex’s new wardrobe, getting her take on colours and designs of baby clothes, after all she is already choosing her own outfits!

Post by Adriana x

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Maternity Dresses | Colour Block Dress Zoe is a summer favourite!

The signature dress Zoe goes from strength to strength, and this season it comes in an exciting new shade of cobalt blue with black, to accompany the already much desired camel with black and tangerine with black. Available in three sleeve lengths you can choose to suit your wardrobe style and how you wish to layer your outfit.

The introduction of this stunning cobalt blue comes after so much interest in this shade this year, as the blue maternity dress has seen a rise to prominence off the back of The Duchess of Cambridge’s interest in this shade.

However, we have seen a continuing surge in popularity in camel as nude stays a fashion favourite amongst many mums-to-be! See below, our sexy mama Filipa from Portugal in Zoe!

Zoe xxx

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Maternity Top Shop Carolina Leaf Print

Here she is, the carissima Carolina! Summer is just around the corner so for this beautiful maternity top shop Zoe Alexander’s latest collection. A delicious coffee leaf print, she is a real sweetie. Cute cuffs in print adorn the summer length sleeves and the long tunic style design allows for teaming up with leggings, white or matching cappuccino, cropped or full length, unless you are a lady who loves to show off her lovely pins, in which case, simply accessorise with bag and jewellery!

Watch out for the new nursing top design coming soon for you ladies looking for stylish breastfeeding tunics! Don’t forget to let me know your thoughts below.

Zoe xxx

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Summer Designs Maternity Tops Animal Print Makes A Mark!

Ladies, who can resist animal print? Leela is another daring designer darling from the leopard animal print maternity tops collection by Zoe Alexander. These tunics are receiving so much attention from our designer mums-to-be who want to be noticed for their fashionista flair.

For the full pussycat makeover they can be paired up with matching cropped leggings for the co-ordinated stylish ensemble from head to toe!

Are you the cat that wants the cream? If so let me know with your comments below!

Zoe xxx

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