The Pact-Lite Travel Friendly Buggy

We recently got back from our first holiday as a family, visiting good friends in Chicago, and out of everything we took with us

(basically, EVERYTHING but the cat) there’s one particular item that made traveling with a baby an absolute breeze.

The Joie Pact Lite is a stroller that folds up so compact that you can take it directly onto the plane and store it in the overhead locker.  

For us, this was a vast selling point since it meant we avoided the risk of waiting to get it back once we got through customs at the airport – a process that can apparently take up to 2 hours (and not something we fancied doing after an 8-hour flight).

Now, you might read this and think “yeah but wasn’t the Babyzen YoYo the first to offer that exact feature” and well yes, they were…but Joie’s is more than half the price and actually LIGHTER than the YoYo! So for me, it’s a no brainer.

My compact pregnancy wardrobe

Apart from feeling the baby move and eating whatever I want, do you know what's been truly enjoyable about pregnancy?

Having a really compact wardrobe.

I didn't realise how small it was until last weekend when I packed my 'pregnancy wardrobe' into a 35 x 20cm box so the builders could have complete access to the bedroom.

I have worn approx 16 items of clothing throughout and it has made the 'getting ready' part of my life SO much more straightforward and one less thing to think about.

Packing the Hospital Bag (ahem, case)

At 37 weeks pregnant, I'm currently in the process of packing my hospital bag which is a fun and slightly daunting process.

My snacks alone could fill up a suitcase but I've managed to rearrange things a little so that everything just about fits.

Before I continue, this is not a post explaining how to pack like Martha Stewart - I am the worst folder in the world.
But I thought it might be useful for any mums-to-be to see what I've included.  I've done a lot of research and these are the items that are repeatedly listed as the 'essentials'. Anything that's linked is the exact product I've got packed.

FYI Dan asked if I would like to pack my Kindle. He seems to think we're going on a spa break...

The Push Pack by Mama Mio includes a refreshing facial spritz and massage oil

Delayed Decorating

I’d say that I’m a pretty organised person but when it’s come to getting the house done up in time for baby’s arrival, things are way behind.

In all fairness, we thought we were on track.  This was the plan….

• Decorate master bedroom
• Dan and I move out of current bedroom (the nursery-to-be) and into master bedroom
• Decorate nursery 

It sounded like a relatively straightforward process so we didn’t begin stripping the walls in the master bedroom until June, feeling totally confident we would have everything wrapped before Sep.

How we wish we kicked off this process a little earlier…