Early Pregnancy

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!