Mamas & Papas

Laura Hamilton shares her preparations for the final stages of pregnancy!

Less than 5 weeks to go and counting!

I’m now back in the UK and have finished filming with ‘A Place in the Sun’ until next March.  I had a great time away filming but I cannot believe that our little one is due in just less than 5 weeks.  One thing for sure is that I am not getting too hung up on my due date as I realise that the chances of the baby arriving then are pretty slim.

 

 

Should the baby arrive early, I feel that I am as organised as I can possibly be.  My hospital bag is packed, the nursery is ready and the freezer is full of meals I have made as I’m sure that food shopping might be a priority quite a way down the list for a couple of weeks.

I think I’ve been extremely lucky over the last 8 months I have had a relatively easy pregnancy.  Yes, my boobs have started producing milk and leaking, I’ve suffered with heart burn, cramp and it has been difficult getting comfortable at night over the last few weeks, but other than that it has been relatively plain sailing!

I have decided against writing a birth plan because I am going to keep an open mind about things.  Having completed my hypnobirthing course, I’m hoping to put all of that in to practise but if I need the drugs I am going to have them.  If my labour goes as well as my pregnancy then I will be very happy but something tells me it might not be that simple… I’ve got everything crossed!

Wish me luck! Until next time…

Laura x

 

Laura Hamilton talks baby showers and babymoons

I’m now well  in to the third trimester and can’t believe how quickly its gone!  Since I last blogged my friend Haley organised the most amazing baby shower (a vintage tea party) at my house.  A few celeb pals attended included Michelle Heaton and Clare Buckfield.  It was perfect…Haley organised beauty treatments, popcorn, candy floss, amazing afternoon tea, and even goodie bags with lots of lovely treats.  My Mum also made the most incredible cake!

 

 

 

I’ve also recently been to Barbados on a ‘Babymoon’ (a last minute holiday before the baby arrives).  It was so nice relaxing with Alex for 10 days.  I was a little shocked when I returned home to see I had been papped on the beach completely unaware! Sometimes the comments are hurtful but, I’m carrying a baby and the most important thing of all is that the baby is healthy so it doesn’t matter what I look like…

 

 

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about my birth plan and I’ve almost finished my Hypno birthing course with a clinical Hypnotherapist, Teresa Pegrum, which I’ve been doing for the last few months. Ideally I would like to give birth this way.  However, at the moment I am thinking I will just have to see what happens… If I need the gas and air or any other pain relief for that matter I will have it. It’s been really great working with Teresa and she has the most relaxing voice!

 

For the next few weeks I’m in Spain filming ‘A Place in the Sun’ – it’s certainly going to be a well travelled baby!  Until next time.

 

Laura xxx

 

Laura Hamilton tells us how she is getting prepared for her first baby

Hi all,

I’m sure, like most first time parents out there, I’m feeling a little anxious about making sure I do everything right. Everybody seems to have an opinion about what labour will be like: sleeping routines and what you should do, breastfeeding, the types of nappies you use, the pram you should get and what type of parent you should be. I think the best bit of advice I have been given so far is, THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY. Everyone’s pregnancy and labour is different and everyone’s child will be different. So as opinionated as anyone might be, you have to do what feels natural to you and what feels right for your baby. That piece of advice aside I’m still researching everything as much as I can because I’m intrigued by the different ways people approach things.

Alex and I attended a 3 day NCT course which I would recommend going to, even just to make friends in the area who are expecting at the same time. I’ve purchased a couple of books too: Gina Ford’s ‘The Contented Little Baby’ and Annabel Karmel’s ‘Complete First Year Planner’.

There are so many things to buy in preparation for the new arrival, and the staff in my local Mamas & Papas store in Purley are really helpful.  I also found a really good list on the Mamas & Papas website of all the necessities you need for when the baby is first born. It is a bit of a minefield, so things like this really help.

I’ve recently ordered one of the lightest prams in the range from Mamas & Papas. It’s ideal when considering that I will be travelling a lot with the baby next year whilst filming ‘A Place in the Sun’. I also love the fact that you can customise the product with different colours and accessories.

I’m soon about to enter into the third trimester and it’s around now I would suggest you should start to order things likes buggies, car seats, Moses baskets, changing tables and cots. Sometimes you may have to wait a few weeks so it’s worth thinking about. My Mum and Nan said “don’t bring the pram into the house when it arrives!” They said it’s unlucky – so I will be storing it in the garage.

 

 

Laura Hamilton and 29 week old bump Xx

 

 

Baby on board, a little introduction…

Hi all,

I’m Laura Hamilton, one of the presenters of Channel 4′s ‘A Place in the Sun’ and ITV’s ‘Fort Boyard’. You might also occasionally see me presenting out on location for ‘Daybreak’ or recognise me as the adrenalin junkie runner-up from the 2011 series of ‘Dancing in Ice’.

I’m really thrilled to blog for Mamas & Papas and if you are pregnant too then CONGRATULATIONS!

This November I am hoping to deliver my best production yet; my first baby. It’s very exciting yet extremely daunting at the same time. Alex (my husband) and I officially announced our happy news in HELLO! Magazine two months ago. I’m really glad I can now talk about it openly because for the first few months, whilst I was still attending red carpet events and filming, I was very conscious people would just think, “ooh Laura is eating a bit too much or is enjoying married life a little too much”. You may have heard the camera adds 10lbs! Well it’s true! So this made me even more aware of getting a bigger stomach and boobs (which I might like to add were quite big already!).

The week before the magazine came out I was actually filming my IV series of Fort Boyard in France. The contestants had no idea I was expecting and with the help of a fab stylist Zoe Lem, I managed to hide my growing bump until I was ready to show it off.

I am continuing to work throughout my pregnancy and will also be returning to work soon after the baby is born. There are so many female TV presenters who have children and it appears they are able to balance their careers with family life: Davina McCall, Myleene Klass, Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton are all great examples.

It’s a big challenge juggling any career whilst raising a family, but I’m ready to take it.

I’ll be regularly blogging about my journey here, so… until next time!

Laura Hamilton and 28 week old bump! Xx

Ellie Crompton from Mumday Times lets us know why the Urbo is loved by the whole family

When is it the Right Time to say Goodbye to the Buggy?

If my husband had his way the buggy would be out on its ear by now. I, however, am stubbornly holding onto my licence to drive. My youngest is three now and perfectly capable of walking to the corner shop and down the hill to nursery but if I had to go cold turkey on the buggy now life would be tough. First of all I can’t drive a car (late bloomer) and any journey longer than 20 mins walk ends up with me giving my daughter a fireman’s lift while trying to juggle bags, ice lollies and my seven year old. Second of all, she still gets so sleepy after nursery so having a mobile snooze en route to her next appointment is ideal. And lastly, how on earth would I carry my shopping home if I didn’t have my buggy to hook bags to/ stuff shopping under/ insert ham into folds of hood?

 

 

This week, I have been testing out a Mamas & Papas Urbo buggy  - I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity of swapping in my crusty rust bucket for a shiny new chariot and so far I am very impressed. I have owned a Bugaboo (now farmed out to Friend) and a Maclaren in my time so I have quite a lot of buggy experience. My crazily generous Mother in Law bought us the Bugaboo which we loved but having tested out the Urbo I can definitely say that if my husband and I had been doing the purchasing with our more limited budget we would have plumped for this handsome beast. The seat of the buggy can either face towards you or away from you and it has a single bar handle which is great if you want to push the buggy with one hand while you hold another child’s hand/umbrella/pasty.

The best things about the Urbo are that the seat reclines totally flat and there is a leg flap that can be extended so that your child can sleep as though she’s flying business class. This also means that you can use the buggy from birth. The hood is also firmly attached to the buggy and is really deep and cocooning, providing loads of shade and keeping the elements out. This buggy feels really reassuringly robust and safe. The only negative I could find was that the wheels don’t mount curbs and steps as easily as with a Bugaboo but when you look at the stonking price difference I think this drawback becomes a minor irk.

 

 

True to form, the wee one fell asleep on the way to her big sister’s end of term picnic and slept parked under the trees in the park for just under an hour – refusing to stir even when I undid the buggy straps.  This is unheard of! Normally when the buggy stops, she wakes up. She will be in this buggy until she is 17. I managed to stow loads of picnic under the buggy (good storage) and when it was time to go home I fitted a friend’s extra picnic rug that got left behind and a collection of very important twigs that the girls collected too.

 

 

Home time!

If I lived in a house with a hallway wider than a birth canal I would consider trading the Urbo for my concertina folding Maclaren. My daughter is so smitten with it though that until I dislocate something from scissor kicking my way past it when I answer the door bell it is staying.