My Second Trimester

Week 12-16

If you have read my earlier post about my first trimester, you will know how awful those three months were for me. I kept holding onto the thought that by week 12 I might feel normal, while trying to ignore that some people had told me the sickness and tiredness could last the whole pregnancy for some women! Apparently on average, the nasty symptoms ease off by week 16, and thankfully mine started to go at week 14. I began to get some energy back, and then the nausea started to reduce so that I was no longer having it all day every day. By week 16 I felt a lot better.

My 20 AND 22 Week Scans

On Halloween of all days, was my 20 week scan.
I was incredibly nervous, because I was hoping to find out the sex so didn't want the little one to have their legs crossed!

I had a student scanner and an experienced one overseeing what she was doing. I was initially shocked by how much harder they press on the second scan, and at a couple of points I felt like if they pressed any harder my bowels would explode!

Pregnancy Yoga DVD- My Review

Prenatal Yoga with Desi Bartlett

I got this as part of my 4-DVD fitness set, and it involves a 45 minute session aimed to relax you whilst also toning the body- both things that I desperately need at the moment!

The session begins with meditation and breathing techniques, before it goes onto a section designed to strengthen the body and increase your energy and stamina, which of course helps with the scary upcoming labour!

Baby On A Budget

One of the biggest stress factors for me so far in this pregnancy has been the finances.

If I had known my workplace had such an awful maternity policy, I may have spent a few more months saving up before I put this bun in the oven!

But rather than wallowing in self pity, I have been trying to be proactive by finding ways to save money in the lead up to my baby arriving, alongside buying the necessary baby equipment.

I thought I would share some of the money-saving tips I have found so far in case they could be useful for you too, so here goes:

Old Wives Tale Test

There are a lot of old wives' tales out their to predict baby gender, the internet is full of crazy ones! I have seen Chinese prediction charts based on the mother's age and when the baby is due, others about the cravings you have, shape of your bump and pendulum tests, and a hell of a lot more!

Flu Jab: Yes or No?

For weeks I have been debating whether or not to have the flu jab as the risks have always seemed unclear to me. The jab is always recommended for pregnant women, as we are deemed the 'high risk category'. This is apparently because pregnancy lowers your immune system, so if you have the flu, you can have far more serious side effects from it, which can even include death.

I am asthmatic, so have had the flu jab yearly for many years now, but the jab now contains bodies to protect against swine flu, and I have always been quite dubious about this.

Pregnancy: The Relationship Wrecker?

I have never found relationships to be the easiest, quite possibly due to the men I have chosen and my own ‘baggage’, but I don’t think I quite realised how pregnancy can possibly provide the biggest test of all.

My first trimester was quite tough on me physically and emotionally, and in turn there were times I would be quite low, irritable and at times frustrated with how I had no control over my body. I attempted to talk to The Bloke about this, and the typical man that he is, feelings really are not things he seems able to identify or understand.

So there were definitely times that my mood swings and his inability to understand why I was having them, would clash hugely. We have had fights because I have spent all day vomiting and he has not attempted to even visit me to mop my brow and kiss it all better. He will argue that I need to just rest and at times he has thought I have been overdramatic, which I think has led him to not giving me the support that I have desperately needed.

Pregnancy Workout DVD - My Review

Prenatal Fitness Fix with Erin O’ Brien.

Three months of eating stodgy rubbish and lying on my sofa has taken its toll.  I look seven months pregnant instead of four, and none of that is baby bump!

So after having a very lazy first trimester, I have decided to attempt to do some fitness in my second stage to try and slow down my weight gain. After a good look on good old Amazon, I managed to find a pregnancy box set with very good feedback, called The Complete Pregnancy Workout.

The Heartbeat

After spending the last week worrying myself sick that I have somehow suffocated the baby by the squashed positions I sit and sleep in (plus being paranoid about my stomach fat squashing bubba), I was sooooooooooo relieved to get the chance to hear the heartbeat today.

The midwife did the usual checks (blood pressure, urine, checked my notes etc) before getting me to lay down and have that lovely, cold gunk applied to the bottom of my tummy.

For about a minute she searched and searched near my groin for a heartbeat. The longer it took, the more nervous I got, and at one point I heard a beat, but she told me that was my own heartbeat.

The Unmentionable Side-Effects of Pregnancy...

Now I have started the second trimester of my pregnancy, I thought I would list the lovely side-effects that can occur in pregnancy. Some of these I now have first-hand experience of, and others I have so far had a lucky escape from

The 12 Week Scan

I thought I would write about my first ever scan that took place a couple of weeks ago, as so far it has been the best experience of my rollercoaster pregnancy.

That particular day was my worst ever in terms of sickness, as from 6am to 2pm, I could not even keep down two sips of water and I felt so drained and unwell from the dehydration it was ridiculous. So it was not the start of the day that I had been dreaming about for the last 12 weeks!

Get Out the Party Poppers, I'm Starting to Feel HUMAN Again!

"CEEEEEEEELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!"

For the last couple of days, I have begun to have some more energy, and I am loving it!

I am now 14 weeks and 3 days along, so it must be true what they say- between week 12 -14, you begin to feel a bit better.

Sure I'm still puking randomly and having cramps here and there (and let's not mention sodding heartburn!) but I no longer feel like a zombie, so have managed the odd walk with the dogs and a tiny bit more housework so feel more able to deal with it.

My Diabetes (GTT) Test Experience

Today I had to go to the hospital for a loooong session of testing for the Glucose Tolerance Test.

Due to me having a higher BMI than I am supposed to, I could not do the traditional 10 minute Lucozade test that many women get to do with their midwife. Instead, I had the lucky treat of having a more in-depth test that took a delightful THREE AND A HALF HOURS!

Pregnancy Tips for Nausea, Sickness and more

Considering I have spent the last three months trying to deal with severe nausea, sporadic sickness and constant tiredness, I thought I would give you some suggestions of what can help to alleviate or at least minimise these symptoms (sometimes lol).

Dry Food

A number of people told me to eat something small and dry before getting out of bed in the morning, and this can help to reduce the nausea. I recommend a dry cracker or rich tea biscuit, as they are quite easy to eat at that time of the morning.

Most days this did help me, as it lined my stomach and would show me if I could keep things down before I attempted a breakfast. Some days I could not even keep this down, but it is less painful to puke up a cracker then it is to puke up a whole meal or even worse, being sick on an empty stomach which just burns!

My First Trimester (0-12 weeks)

0-4 Weeks

I found out I was pregnant on what doctors term the 4th week (they take it by the date of your last period rather than the date of conception). At that point I was incredibly excited and scared at the same time. It was the morning of my third anniversary with my partner, and I had to take three tests before believing it.

The hardest part for me was keeping it to myself until I saw him for our anniversary dinner! Me being me, there was no way I could hold it in for even an hour, so popped in to see him on my way to work and gave him the shock of his life!

Why I'm Doing This Blog...

Hi Readers,

I have just come through my first trimester of pregnancy, and so far it has been a fairly rough ride for me.
I sense my friends and family are starting to tire of my laziness, negativity and general moodiness, so I thought I would burden you lot with it.

Only kidding about burdening you guys... A work colleague suggested that I write an honest account of what pregnancy has been like for me, because the worst part about it so far, has been that I was SO UNPREPARED for the side effects!