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.