Sunday, 27 November 2016

4 Month Pregnancy Update & Symptoms

It's strange to think I am now 4 months, in some ways I feel like it has taken forever to get here but also that there's not long left and we have so much to do to get ready!

This month has been quite massive for me in the sense of me really connecting with my pregnancy after all the ups and downs at the during the first trimester. I have loved listening to the baby's heartbeat on my doppler - this has been a huge comfort and has also been wonderful to share it with Matt and Ruby.

Energy
My energy levels have most definitely increased, thankfully! which has made my evenings more enjoyable and I have certainly felt more useful to my family rather than having to dive into bed as soon I've got home from work - although come to think of it maybe I should have milked this one for a little longer!

Sleep
My sleep has been much more broken so far this trimester and I have had some extremely vivid dreams, one of which was so bad I woke up crying! I'd be happy not to have that one again for sure. Other than the vivid dreams there has also been my 1-2 toilet visits and then having to figure out how to silence my husbands snoring without inflicting bodily harm!

Weight/Food
My eating has normalised quite a lot - I still have times where I know I would like something specific but it's nothing compared to my complete aversions or intense cravings that I was experiencing in the first trimester. I now like mango again - this is a big deal because I have always loved mango but when I had it once in the early weeks I was repulsed by the texture and smell and feared my love would never return, luckily for me and my local Aldi store it did!.
I have not weighed myself for  the past 3-4 weeks, last time I did I had gained approx 6lbs and decided there and then to just let the midwives monitor my weight at my check ups and they can indicate if its all OK.

Bump
My bump, well it's definitely there! However I do think I am at that awkward stage where you dont look obviously pregnant and could have easily eaten a big lunch! I am really looking forward to my bump growing and Ruby is enjoying seeing it grow too and has to kiss my bump every night before she does to sleep. I have had lots of stretching twinges and twangs which I had forgot about from being pregnant with Ruby (well it was nearly 10 years ago!) but it someways I have found them to be comforting as its reassurance that my body is doing it's thing.

Midwife Appointment
My midwife appointment was on Friday morning. and it ended up being quite an emotional but very helpful appointment which I will go into in more detail in another post as it was quite significant with regards to how this pregnancy and my labour will be handled.
My urine sample came back as having signs of a possible infection, although I can't say I have noticed any symptoms to suggest this but they are sending it off for testing which is good and hopefully it will all come back clear and if not then at least they can perscribe me with what ever is needed to resolve it.

Round-up!
So all in all my 4th month has not been too bad at all and I look forward to seeing our baby in 4 weeks at our 5 month scan and fingers crossed we get to find out the gender!.




Sunday, 20 November 2016

The Journey So Far....

Well here I am, 15 weeks and 2 days pregnant and feeling just about brave enough to begin this blog. 

My name is Becky and this is my second pregnancy. My first pregnancy was nearly 10 years ago which brought us our wonderful daughter Ruby who is currently 9 and extremely excited at the news of becoming a big sister.

I want to keep this blog real and honest, I don't want to sugar coat anything and I want to use this to document this pregnancy in all its glory. My main reason for this blog is because this pregnancy began with a massive dose of shock, quickly followed by uncertainty and fear. For the 8 weeks leading up to my 12 week mark I failed to remain positive and was constantly afraid that my pregnancy was coming to an end - sounds quite dramatic I know but during this time I was regularly spotting which sometimes led to bleeds and although we has two scans, at 6 weeks and 7 weeks 4 days, it was very hard for me to believe that it would be ok.

I think one thing that became very frustrating for me was that  I could not get any answers, I quote the sonogram technician who said "we can see a heartbeat - that's all we care about" I do think she meant this as a comfort but at the time it didn't feel like that, it left me feeling like I had no control, no further understanding of what my body was doing and why, which felt very hard for me to accept.

My last spotting and bleed was at 14 weeks but this time I had the comfort of my doppler to put my mind at rest and I had also felt some flutters which I new were from the baby. I realised just how my mindset had changed from previous episodes and that I could see my positivity growing and even though I may have it again over the duration of this pregnancy, I feel able to deal with it better as I move forward.

So now its a time for me to relax and go with it day by day, I want to enjoy the moments, share the fears and most of all embrace in this wonderful experience and chance we have to grow our family from three to four.