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ISSUE 01DECEMBER 20

WAYS TO ENJOYXMAS WHENPREGNANT

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The Lingerie

GIFTS JUSTFOR YOU

6 TOP

AND MORE FORTHE BABY

MOCKTAILS

TIME

SPECIAL My Pregnancy Diaryduring a Pandemic

THE WEEKLY YUMMY RECIPE

Baby Christmas Gifts Ideas

Easy Home Decorations

Pregnancy Mocktails

9 Ways to Enjoy Christmas whenyou are pregnant

Top 6 Gifts just for you

The Lingerie Special

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EditorsCO

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121416 My Pregnancy Journey during the

Corona Pandemic

Delicious and Healthy Pancakes18Our Local Suppliers19

ulima Villar is the Complement Co-founder of Balanze.co.uk bringing herentrepreneurial skill and retail industryexpertise to make possible a commercialstore for you and your family.

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ELCOME TO OUR FIRST BALANZE ISSUE MADE IT SPECIALLY FOR YOU. WE HOPE YOU LIKE EVERY ITEM WE HAVE CURATED FOR YOU ANDYOUR FAMILY. WE WISH YOU A WARM MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEARTO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!

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ngelica Castro is the Mastermind and Co-founder of Balanze as a specialised hub forpregnant and new mums, her charisma andexperience as a mum inspired her with love,passion, and empowerment to create Balanze.

MEET THE FOUNDERS

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9 Christmas WAYS TO ENJOYWHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT

1Plan Ahead

Your

Shopping

Write down your shopping list. It

will save you time if browsing in

stores or even buying online.

2Pace

Yourself

Don't let the Christmas rush

take you. Relax and enjoy the

festivity but with no pressure.

It doesn't matter if you don't

get every present perfectly

wrapped.

3Take Time

to Relax

Take regular breaks and put

your feet up every time you

need. Buy a well-deserved

Gift Pamper Set to yourself!

4

Being pregnant doesn't mean you

can't have fun and enjoy the holiday

season. You can get in the mood

with a nice drink.

If you decide to have a drink once

you're past the first 14 weeks, limit it

to no more than one unit or two

units, once or twice a week. A small

glass of wine or champagne is

about 1.5 units.

4Catch Up on

Sleep

Rest when you can. It may

sound repetitive, but do it if you

can. Tiredness is common

during pregnancy so you need

to sleep as muc as you can.

5Do what you

enjoy

De-stress yourself out reading a

book, going for swimming,

calling your friends or whatever

makes you have your energy up!

6Eat little

and Often

You don't want to feel the

heartburn for eating too much at

once or too quick. Make space

for the mince pais and pudding

to avoid indigestion.

7Enjoy a

good

Mocktail 8Drink lots

of water

If you are planning to go

out don't forget to bring

a bottle of water with

you. It is super important

stay well hydrated.

9Be

Prepared

Have with you the

midwife/gp telephone

number. Get your hospital

bag, birth plan and notes if

you are in the last trimester.

You must be prepared in

case you need it.

Make the most of it and enjoy the celebrations!

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Mum's World

Relaxing Self-Care GiftSet

TOP 6 GIFTS JUST FOR

QuartzMassageRoller andStone£18,00

You

Mini Electric WaterproofSonic Facial Massager

£16.00

£20,00

Bring the Spa toyour Home

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Strech Mark Oil(Included in the

Luxurious Mum-to-BePamper Set)£45.00

Feel AmazingAromatherapy Bath Melts

£35,00

£12,00

Rose Facial Mist(Included in theLuxurious Rose FacialGift Set)

...because youdeserve it!

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Take Controlbefore and after!

We picked out themust-have

shapewear styles,from the

pregnancysupport belt, tobody-shapers

with tight controland butt lifter,

high waistpanties and the

classic waistcincher corsets.

JUST LANDED Shapewear The Lingerie Special

£23,00

PregnancySupportBelt forpregnancyand after.

£67,00

LatexHigh-WaistPanty withfull tummy

control.

£67,00

SiluetteWaistCorset

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Balanze

Super cute and perfectactivity to keep yourkids entertained athome enjoying theseason!

Christmas

£13,50

Felt Christmas Tree forkids

(Includes 19 feltornaments)

I F T I D E A S F O R T H EL I T T L E O N E S

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Wrapped Baby Setsfor a perfect

A soft andstretchyheadband withhandmadereversible biband abeechwoodteether. BPA-free.

Velvet BowBaby Care Set

with Softbristled baby

hairbrush andSilicone Bib.

Supportinglocal

Sellers

Christmas Gift

£31,00

£30,00

£33,00

Spice Baby Care Set (Includes a knot floppy hat,

Wooden rings rattle, soft bristle

hairbrushand a

silicone Bib)

Scandi Baby GiftSet Includes a Nordicreversible bib, abeechwoodanimal teether. £19,00

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Mum's World

Comfy rompersmade of soft

cotton.Perfect for this

Christmasseason

& for picturesfamily session.

Soo Cute!

Christmas Rompers

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ChristmasKnitted BabyRomper£19,00

ChristmasSanta BabyStripedRomper£15,00

ChristmasDeer Baby

Romper withheadband

£15,00

Mum's World

ChristmasCushionCovers

Ideas to make yourhome

GarlandDecorations

HangingOrnamentsMagical

£25,00

£4,50

£18,00

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Balanze

£7,00

This classic Christmas doorbanner to increase theChristmas spirit.

3 pc Christmas Standing Figurines.Santa Clause, Snowman, and

Reindeers.£23,00

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Pregnancy Mocktails The Special Edit

Being pregnant over the festive season can’t stop you to feel wonderfuland included in the celebration… tea, water, juices, can turn out into a

personalized Mocktail. They are simple, quick, full of flavour and very easy to do.

1 litre of fresh apple juiceStrips of orange peel1 cinnamon stick2-star anise3 clovesSugar or honey to taste

Ingredients

MethodHeat the apple juice in a saucepan on the hob.Add the orange peel, cinnamon and cloves andsimmer for 5-10 minutes.Sweeten to taste.

1. Mulled Apple – orange Spice

Christmas

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330mlfrozen lemonade (put into acontainer and freeze)150ml orange juice2tbsp sugarfrozen strawberriesSqueeze of fresh lime

Ingredients

Method(White Portion) Blend half the frozenlemonade, half the orange juice, and1tbsp sugar until smooth. Freeze in acontainer for one hour.

3. Mama–Rita oh!!Mamacita!

The Special Edit

150ml pomegranate juiceFrozen mix berriesHalf lemon to squeeze1 cinnamon stickWhite sugar to decorate

Ingredients

MethodTake your cocktail glass and rub the edge ofthe lemon peel.Then put sugar around it.Serve the pomegranate Juice with a bunch ofmix frozen berries.Add half of lemon juice !! Cheers Mum!

2. Sparkle Pomegranate& Berries!

(Red Portion) Blendthe remaining frozenlemonade, orangejuice, the frozenstrawberries and1tbsp sugar untilsmooth.Pour the red portioninto margaritaglasses, fill uphalfway.Add a scoop of thewhite portion to eachglass and top with asqueeze of lime.

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My first thought was thatmiracles do happen and Godhad not forgotten about me, butthen I felt so afraid that all theexcitement turned into sadnessagain, and together with thepandemic situation, my fearincreased. I called my GP straightaway for a referral due to myprevious miscarriages and wewere happy to discover that allwas well with the pregnancy, andthe best part was hearing theheartbeat so strong.

I always compared thispregnancy with my previousones; both of them lasted untilthe end of the first trimester. Thedifference with this onehowever, was that I had morningsickness and the sheerexhaustion became a nightmareat the end of the day when I wasworking as well.I spent most of my pregnancy athome due to the lockdown whichhelped me hide my sickness andtiredness from my workcolleagues. I even had to changeall my regular routines, includingsimple ones like walking to thetrain station as it made mesomehow irrational andemotional.

My husband and I tried to keep thispregnancy to ourselves to avoid anysadness again which made my firsttrimester feel the longest, especiallywaiting for the important 12-weekscan. When the time finally came, I wasso disappointed that I wasn’t able toshare those special moments with myhusband, such as hearing the baby’sheartbeat or finding out the sex of thebaby because the pandemic safetymeasures did not allow him to attendwith me.Despite that, we were extremely happyto see how precious this bundle ofcells became to us and that there were

Finding out that I was pregnantwas a total whirlwind ofemotions — happiness, fear, andanxiety, not to mentioncompletely unexpected. I recalltaking the test just to confirmthat I was not pregnant and tomy surprise it was positive.

Having had two miscarriages,there was always a part of methat doubted my own faith;Mother Nature reminding methat motherhood maybe was notfor me. This made it very difficultfor me to continue believing thatI would ever have the chance tobecome a mother naturally.However, there was always aglimmer of hope inside of meand, after many years of prayersto the Virgin of Miracles, therainbow of hope at the end ofmy storms began on 13 March2020.

My Pregnancy Journey duringthe Corona Pandemic

From this day onwards myheart was bursting withhappiness again as I hadanother opportunity tobecome a mum — mybiggest dream.

I have always believed thateverything happens for a reason.

It was very difficult for me toidentify if the breakdownswere part of the hormones orjust because of the lockdown.

Sofia Castaneda

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no abnormalities in our baby.I was not able to show my lovelybelly, prepare and share a genderreveal, have a baby shower withall my friends, continue myregular workouts, or even myregular work. However I knew Ihad to adapt to the new normal,like doing everything online, frommy regular shopping to meetingmy friends for a coffee.

Although I never consideredmyself at risk of catching Covid-19, it was really starting to affectmy mental health during the endof my second trimester. In fact, ittook me a while to recover andfocus again, especially in terms ofmy job where I started feelinguseless and undervalued for thework I was assigned to do, which made my hormones worse. Thisresulted in me experiencing amental breakdown, leading me tocry all day for a couple of days.Fortunately, one of my brother’sand some of my friendssupported me and helped merecover slowly but successfully.

Towards the end of my pregnancyI became more anxious; thereality hitting me as the day of thebirth was getting closer! I couldn’twait to meet our princess and forher to finally become part of ourfamily.

The waiting was the hardestthing to do and anxiety washitting me so strongly. I tried tokeep myself busy with work, butunfortunately the workload wasnever enough. Arranging thearrival of my mum in thispandemic was very challengingtoo, but luckily we managed tohave her with us before our babywas born which really helpedwith my mental health.

I When I finally nodded off Iwould wake up to go to the toiletnumerous times a night.From the size of a poppy seed toa fully formed baby, this wholepregnancy has blown my mindwith what the body can achieve.This pregnancy has been thehappiest time of my life so far,but nothing compares to themoment your water breaks andyou realise that the time hasfinally arrived; we will meet ourdaughter, and all the pain of herdelivery is forgotten when I holdher in my arms.From that moment on all thelove inside you wants to protectand care for the little person inyour arms. I will never be able to thank myhusband, my family, and myfriends enough for their supportduring this pregnancy. It wasreally important to have themduring these difficult times.

The bigger I got, the more mybody felt like it belonged tosomeone else. I never knew justhow big you could get withoutpopping! I was really excited tosee the size of my belly at theend of my pregnancy, but I alsoexperienced tiredness andinsomnia. I would feel tooexhausted at the end of the daybut still wide awake into theearly hours as my mind raced.

I advise any new mums toalways talk, read, andresearch as it does help,but your instinct as amum will be natural toyou when you have yourbaby in your arms.Enjoy the last few weeks as atwosome as much as you can. It’shard as you have less energy todo fun things but even justhanging out and chatting to yourpartner can be special beforeyour whole world changes.

Healthy Eating by Nicole

2 ripe bananas1/3 Pumpkin cooked for a healthier touch1 egg1 cup oat flakes1 teaspoon baking powder1 pinch of saltA handful of almonds or nuts Vanilla essence and cinnamon powder to taste A bunch of fresh berries or any fruit on top Additional honey, Kefir or Greek yogurt if you like.

Ingredients

Preparation:Place the bananas, the oats, the pumpkin. and the egginto a blender. Add a pinch of baking powder, salt,vanilla essence or cinnamon. Blend it until it reaches athick consistency. If it is very dry you can add half a cupof coconut milk to make it creamy.

Preheat the pan with a little coconut oil, when themixture is ready, pour it over it carefully.Allow to cook until bubbles have formed, then they areready to turn... have fun flipping your pancakes!

Breakfast & Snack - ChristmasPancake time!

Benefits for Mum & Baby

Dietician &

Nutricionist

I would love toinspire you to trynew recipes forhealthy eatingduring yourpregnancy and postpartum.

These pancakes are an amazing option to have forbreakfast or snacks during your pregnancy and after, since

these are full of nutrients that are good for you.

Berries contain lots of water, so theyare an excellent source of hydration.Vitamin C provides iron absorption andboosts the body’s immune system.

Nuts such as almondscontain calcium thathelps strengthen bones,vitamin d and e thatmaintain skin, hair andnails in good shape. Thewalnut has unsaturatedfats that helps controllingcholesterol levels. Thesealso have omega 3 thathelp to maintain a healthyand strong heart..

Coconut milk hasunsaturated fats that helpus control cholesterol and

help us with importantmetabolic processes in the

growth and development ofour baby. However, it isimportant to look at the

nutritional table and avoidthe one with added sugars.

In addition, eggs areconsidered asuperfood belowbreast milk sincethey contain notonly proteins butalso fats that whenconsumed help usmaintain our musclemass andstrengthen ourheart.

When we are pregnant,the body needs to

pump more blood tobe able to provide

food, and oxygen toour baby.

By increasing theconsumption of foodwith potassium such

as bananas helps us tolevel our blood

pressure.

Pumpkins are a source offiber, potassium, and

Vitamin C and help to havefaster bowel movements.

Bananasarerecognized for having high potassiumcontent for people withhigh blood pressure and itcontrols the sodium levelsin the blood thus reducingblood pressure in general

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Mum's World

BalanzeSupporting

Yamy Montaño Yummy by Yamy

Miriam BarrachinaEco Bebe

"Hello! I am Miriam. Having struggled to find practical, well-designed and eco-friendly baby products formy own children, I decided to start EcoBebe. I wanted Eco Bebe to stand forcomfort, ethical making and stylish babyessentials.

All my teething products are BPA-free andmade with food grade silicone. I also usecertified bamboo and 100% cotton in mytextiles range such as muslins, swaddlesand bodysuits.

Eco Bebe favours chic, timeless, gender-neutral designs with nature-inspired details.Eco Bebe is the baby collection for newparents of sustainable and beautifullydesigned baby items to make all thosemilestones in your baby's life memorableand fun".Find us at Balanze!

Hola! My name is Yami (yes like Yummy) and Iam from the beautiful Cali in Colombia.

I started my brand called Yummy by Yamy in2013 selling handmade mamas and baby girlshair accessories. I basically love making thingswith my hands, from accessories of any kind,sewing and cooking.

Although I have been creating for a few yearsnow, my turbans were born during thelockdown when shops were closed, Afro Hair+ Not Hairdressers open = Total Chaos :-)

Initially I started making them for myself andas I started posting pictures on IG, people DMme asking me for prices and whether I sentthem abroad. I have been sewing non stopand sending packages within the UK, Italy,Germany, Spain and Portugal. And nowavailabel At Balanze!

Our Suppliers

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Balanze

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