Early pregnancy is a real bitch. Nausea, tiredness, dizziness, heightened sense of smell and tummy cramps - in the first 3 months it's sometimes hard to remember exactly WHY we wanted to do this in the first place!
My morning sickness hasn't been too bad - just a kind of underlying nausea that never quite goes away. It's worse first thing, but seems to be alleviated by eating breakfast. For the rest of the day I try to eat little and often, and keep my fluid intake up. Extra Strong Mints help, too!
The fatigue aspect is horrendous - no matter how much sleep I get I still want more, and the smallest of chores can have me wheezing and panting for breath, and needing to retire to the sofa for a rest. I passed out when I was pregant with my son, so am acutely conscious of not overdoing things or being on my feet for too long.
The sense of smell thing is really weird - open the fridge door or walk past the kitchen bin and the overwhelmingly pungent odours are enough to send me reeling and gagging. Just horrible.
My tummy cramps are easing off now that I am at the 10 week stage - hopefully the fetus has bedded in nicely and is making itself a cosy home for the next 6 months or so. I remember in my first pregnancy the pains were horrendous at times, but I guess my body is used to what is going on now!
Pregnancy is so much harder second time around, when you already have a little one to look after. He's just as energetic, mischievous and noisy as ever, and can't understand why I am always wanting to lie down instead of play with him. Plus I work full time, which means I have very little energy left by the end of the day.
In addition to my 12 week scan date I now have an appointment to see the consultant at the hospital on17 August. Bizarrely though, I still haven't seen a midwife. I rang my doctors surgery and they gave me the midwife's number to call, but when I spoke to her she said she didn't cover my area and she would ask the woman who did to give me a ring. Needless to say, I am still waiting!
Friday 30 July 2010
Friday 16 July 2010
A Date with Destiny
So my eagerly awaited 12 week scan appointment has come through - Friday 13 August.
There must be some joke, surely? Who in their right minds decided that would be a good date to do a pre-natal scan on?? Good job I'm not overly superstitious.
Am I excited? You bet. It's the first time I will get to see the little person growing inside of me. The little person who is currently zapping my life force on a daily basis, making me feel like a zombie and playing havoc with my taste buds and sense of smell.
Am I scared? Absolutely shitless. What if we don't make it to Friday 13? That's a whole 4 weeks away yet, and even with my most optimistic hat on it's a terrifyingly long time to wait. Plus, the last scan I went to was not exactly the most joyous experience.
But hey ho, onwards we go. Now I just need the community midwife to make contact and arrange my booking in appointment, at which point I will do battle and begin my "I will be refusing induction at any cost" campaign. Wish me luck with that!
There must be some joke, surely? Who in their right minds decided that would be a good date to do a pre-natal scan on?? Good job I'm not overly superstitious.
Am I excited? You bet. It's the first time I will get to see the little person growing inside of me. The little person who is currently zapping my life force on a daily basis, making me feel like a zombie and playing havoc with my taste buds and sense of smell.
Am I scared? Absolutely shitless. What if we don't make it to Friday 13? That's a whole 4 weeks away yet, and even with my most optimistic hat on it's a terrifyingly long time to wait. Plus, the last scan I went to was not exactly the most joyous experience.
But hey ho, onwards we go. Now I just need the community midwife to make contact and arrange my booking in appointment, at which point I will do battle and begin my "I will be refusing induction at any cost" campaign. Wish me luck with that!
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Welcome to the blog!
Today I am 7 weeks and 5 days pregnant - that's a whole 5 days further than my last pregnancy got, and so to celebrate I've decided to start writing a blog to track my/our progress.
Sorry if I sound flippant - it's the only way I can deal with the fact that earlier this year I suffered a miscarriage. We all assume it will never happen to us - but of course, miscarriage is indescriminate, and can and does affect anyone. I dealt with it the way I deal with most things - I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity for approximately a week, then gave myself a mental slap around the face and pulled myself together. As a mother to a 2 and a half year old I didn't see I had much choice - he needed me too.
So - fast forward 4 months and you can imagine my delight when I realised I was actually pregnant again! The euphoria was quickly replaced with the sinking realisation that I was going to have to go through the early stages of pregnancy and all its uncertainty for a third time.
I have now passed the 7 week milestone of when my miscarriage occurred last time, and am feeling slightly more optimistic. All the right pregnancy symptoms are there - body-shattering fatigue, wooshes of nausea and of course the obligatory stretchy pains which are reassuring yet terrifying at the same time.
My job now is to sit it out patiently until I get the date for my 12 week scan. I've never known time to pass so slowly ....
Sorry if I sound flippant - it's the only way I can deal with the fact that earlier this year I suffered a miscarriage. We all assume it will never happen to us - but of course, miscarriage is indescriminate, and can and does affect anyone. I dealt with it the way I deal with most things - I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity for approximately a week, then gave myself a mental slap around the face and pulled myself together. As a mother to a 2 and a half year old I didn't see I had much choice - he needed me too.
So - fast forward 4 months and you can imagine my delight when I realised I was actually pregnant again! The euphoria was quickly replaced with the sinking realisation that I was going to have to go through the early stages of pregnancy and all its uncertainty for a third time.
I have now passed the 7 week milestone of when my miscarriage occurred last time, and am feeling slightly more optimistic. All the right pregnancy symptoms are there - body-shattering fatigue, wooshes of nausea and of course the obligatory stretchy pains which are reassuring yet terrifying at the same time.
My job now is to sit it out patiently until I get the date for my 12 week scan. I've never known time to pass so slowly ....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)