Month: July 2017

music, my pregnancy

TRNSMT: Festivalling while pregnant

manderpantz

In another life, in what seems like the distant past, I was a wannabe music journo with a passion for all things music, mud and memories made in fields. Live music was, and still is to an extent, my drug of choice and nobody could keep me from pushing down the front with my fist in the air.

Fast forward a few years, and although the music journalist part didn’t work out, I still try to get out to see bands at least once a month. Not one for wanting to completely change my life just because I’m pregnant, I’ve still been going to gigs and things as I normally would. Many of the tickets were booked well in advance of little coffee bean even uttering a heartbeat, and I had been looking forward to them all for very different reasons.

TRNSMT

One thing I hadn’t really planned on, however, was festivalling whilst pregnant. TRNSMT festival launched this year as a sort of replacement for T in the Park, only it was in the middle of Glasgow and with no camping. With many artists on the bill I love and more I’d love to see live, the other half and I snapped up tickets as soon as they went on sale. However, as July rolled around, we were a bit more apprehensive of what spending 2 days at a festival meant for someone almost 7 months pregnant.

Here’s the main things I took away from the experience:

If it’s sunny, you’re onto a winner
The Scottish weather is as predictable as the lottery numbers, so July doesn’t always mean sun. The Saturday of TRNSMT was warm and sunny, which importantly meant the grass was up for grabs when the old legs needed a break from walking for 2. The Sunday on the other hand was a washout, with no guaranteed dry seats, not even in the toilets.

People are generally good, and respect the bump
Once people saw the bump, they tended to be respectful and warn their pals not to push past me. Others even let me skip the toilet queue because of said bump – result!

By the disabled platform is a good place to hang out
We have a friend in a wheelchair who spent the weekend at the main stage disabled platform, so there was some logic in going there to start with. There were a few nooks around the platform which enabled us not only to get close and chat to our friend, but also step slightly out of the main crowd and avoid the forward rushing for headliners like Kasabian.

Strangers (mostly mums) will want to touch your belly and give you advice
Being very obviously pregnant is a surefire conversation starter in public, and a few people did come up to me over the weekend asking if I was expecting (not sure what the alternative would have been – tanned too many ciders too quickly?). Other mums with a day off also liked to strike up conversations involving touching bump and how good it is to have a day off to come to these things.

The urge to run into the crowd doesn’t go away
For me, nothing beats getting into the music, whether that means jumping around, dancing or getting lost in the crowd. The most difficult thing all weekend was to fight that urge to get lost in the throng of tipsy music lovers.

It was a fantastic experience to be able to go to the first ever TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, and one I’m glad bump got to experience too (got to get them started on the good music young, right?!). There were some advantages like not spending half the day in the bar queue and kind souls allowing me to skip the loo queue, but I can’t wait for my next festival to include the staple pint in hand and ability to rush closer to my favourite bands as I please.

my pregnancy

5 Little Things I Miss Now I’m Pregnant

manderpantz
Pregnancy forces your body through some magical (and some not-so-magical) changes in a short 9 month period. For many, it also means a few health and lifestyle changes, at least for this period of life. Most of these are well documented and you know to expect them – cutting out caffeine, stopping any heavy lifting and so on. But here are 5 little things nobody warned me I’d miss during my pregnancy journey:

1 – Jeans
It was a struggle to find a perfect fit before bump came along, but boy did I take those high-waisters for granted. Having not worn jeans for about 3 months now, outfits take much more planning these days especially when you have to experience the unpredictable climate of a Scottish summer. Jeans are such an easy fix for any type of day, rain or shine, hot or cold, so as a result of no denim, my ‘getting ready’ time has just about doubled in the morning looking for weather-appropriate comfy clothing.
I know that there are such things as maternity jeans but when you’re over 5 foot 6 they are not a luxury you get to enjoy unless you’re a fan of penguin walks and chafing. (If anyone can find me a pair of maternity jeans that fit a tall size 12 gal, I’ll be eternally grateful)

2 – Opening windows
It sounds ridiculous but there are only about 2 windows in my home I can still safely and easily open and close on my own. Partly down to high ceilings meaning I have large windows, partly down to poor planning in terms of kitchen structure and furniture placement, but nevertheless it’s a nuisance having to rely on somebody to open or close a window for you because it’s too hot or has started pouring with rain, flooding the windowsill.

3 – Delicious food
Ok, so most off-limits foods are pretty well known about by even those who have never encountered a pregnant person. But haven’t you noticed that most of the foods we preggos aren’t allowed are, in fact, the most delicious? I mean, I didn’t even eat steak that much before, but I have never been so aroused by juices oozing out of a rare meat on a cooking show until now. Nor have I ever dreamed of feasting on a good ol’ Scottish fry-up, complete with runny egg, black pudding and haggis until very recently.
4 – Sleeping on my back 
I’m one of those weird folk that still sleeps in the foetal position regardless of how many people in the bed, so avoiding sleeping on my back or front was never something I thought would be a problem for me. BUT, when the choice is taken away from me, it’s upsetting and sleep-disturbing. There’s nothing worse than trying to get comfortable with heartburn (thanks wee boy), whilst battling sciatica and a wriggling furnace of a partner in the bed. Lying flat on my back might do nothing for the heartburn but it’s sometimes all my sciatic nerve wishes for on a sleepless night.

5 – Being left alone
As a (somewhat) strong, independent woman, I’ve managed to live an adult life by myself which has comprised of moving away from home, living on my own, commuting and travelling further afield solo, and generally taking care of myself, by myself. Now, however, it seems that I can’t do anything without a question or an opinion or somebody wanting to do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely for people to be so caring and to offer to help with things but sometimes it just makes me feel really inadequate and incapable when people think I can’t do the most basic things for myself. And honestly, it’s a little embarrassing as I feel like a bit of a fraud that doesn’t really need the assistance as much as many other people do. I never thought I’d miss being an invisible member of society, going about my business as I please, without anyone fussing over me.

I’m sure there will be many more things I’ll grow to miss as the next few months roll on, but these are certainly some of the things I hadn’t quite mentally prepared for. At least Kopparberg have a decent alcohol-free range, meaning there’s one less thing I’ll have to go without until October!