12 & 13 Week Pregnancy Update - Baby Number 2!

Due Date:

28 October 2016

Symptoms:

I've only had two morning's this week where I was heaving before work, but on Friday night, I was so, so sick! The worst I've been yet I think! I'm starting to get a little bit more energy, but I'm still very tired and taking myself off to bed much earlier than I usually would. Apart from that, it's been a relatively uneventful week.

How is baby? 

The baby is now approximately 6cm and is fully formed. The eyes have moved to the front of  the head, rather than the side and s/he can move it's arms and legs. They're actually moving around quite a lot now, but it will be a while before I will feel anything. S/he will also begin practicing their reflexes this week, like sucking, curling fingers and toes and clenching their eyes.

How I'm feeling?

As you may have noticed, my due date has now changed. I had my 12 week scan on the 21st April and they gave me a date of 28 October, which is four days before my estimated date. Whereas before my scan, my change over day would be on a Tuesday, by the midwives dates, I now change over on a Friday. So, on the day I had my scan, by my dates I was 12 + 2 but they had me down as 12 + 6.  In all honesty, this time around, I'm taking the date with a pinch of salt. I know the first date of my last period and the date of conception. I also know that this baby will come when s/he feels like it.

I was really lucky with Alfie as he arrived at exactly 39 weeks and boy was I so ready to meet him. I'm not sure I could've coped another week by the end, and I dread to think what it would've been like had I have gone over.

I'm going to do a separate post about my scan, so I don't want to say too much about it here, but despite it being the second time I've done this now, I was still incredibly nervous and anxious on the morning. It was just such a huge relief when they were able to tell me that the baby and everything was ok and as it should be.

Now that we've had the scan, it meant that we were FINALLY able to announce our news to the world!

A few people already knew but we put it on facebook and were totally overwhelmed by the congratulatory messages we got. I felt very loved indeed. It was lovely to be able to bask in the excitement for an evening, rather than feeling sorry for myself curled up on the couch. It felt like such a relief to finally be able to announce it and I felt like people, especially at work, were a lot more understanding of why I'd not been myself.

I know I've not really enjoyed this pregnancy so far, but I feel so incredibly lucky to be experiencing this for a second time. One of the things I'm most excited about, is my babies meeting for the first time. I literally cannot wait!

11 Weeks Pregnant - Baby Number 2!

Due Date: 

Still 01 November, but by next week, I'll have my official due date.

Symptoms:

After getting away with very little sickness last week, this week it's been back with a vengeance! Tuesday, the day I turned 11 weeks, was a particularly bad day as I'd felt off all day and I was really sick at night time which lasted way in to the next day, resulting in me having to go home early from work. I hated having to leave, but I had spent more time in the toilets than I had at my desk. My boss was brilliant though and was so understanding. I'm so glad I've told her that I'm pregnant and I'm not keeping it from her.

Other than the sickness, I've still got next to no energy to do anything and I'm going to bed as soon as I can at night, or falling asleep on the couch, then having to drag myself to bed.

How is baby?

The baby is approx 4cm and has all its fingernails in place and very soon, will start opening and closing it's hands. The head is also very formed, with all the facial bones present. The body is now becoming more proportionate but the head does still take up a third of the overall length.

How I'm feeling? 

Despite feeling so rubbish, I think my mindset has changed this week. I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, so I've tried to remain as positive as I can this week and on the odd occasion where I've had a burst of energy, I've tried to do something round the house, so it's not all left to Michael. I keep telling myself that these early weeks are so nearly over and with that the sickness and tiredness should go too. I've also reminded myself that my feeling and being so sick is a sign that the baby is growing strong and I keep reminding myself that is the most important thing and once s/he is here it will have been worth every single second.

I know how lucky I am to be pregnant and I know there are women who would take feeling this bad and worse just to have a little baby growing inside of them. With that in mind, I've tried to focus more on the positives and not be so hard on myself for not being able to cook tea for my husband or play a game with my son. It won't last forever and in the grand scheme of things, it's only a few weeks that I'll feel like this.

I'm excited for my scan next week. I just can't wait until I can see our little bub on screen and hopefully know that everything is ok. It's getting quite hard to hide now because as you can see from the picture above, I've already got a bump! At work, I'm wearing lots of loose tops of hoodies to try and hide my belly! I'll be so glad when it's not a secret anymore :)

8 Weeks Pregnant - Baby Number 2

Due Date: 

01 November 2016

Symptoms?

So the sickness has stopped and been replaced with heaving instead although I did have a couple of days at the end of the week where I had no sickness / heaving at all, which was really rather lovely! That said, I've never been so glad for having two toilets! Every morning I get up and go down as quietly as I can and use the down stairs loo as I'm up a good 20 minutes before the boys - I can't imagine it being nice for Michael to wake up to the sound of me being sick every morning. I'm feeling really rough when I get up and getting out of bed is really, really hard! From the moment I open my eyes I'm filled with dread - am I going to be sick? Do I feel sick? Am I going to be ok? I think it's the worry of not knowing if I'm actually going to be sick which makes getting up so much harder!

On saying that, I'm finding now that my sickness is starting to settle down and once I've either been sick / heaved that it's enough to get it out of my system and I'm ok, whereas a few weeks ago the nausea would linger till around mid morning and sometimes even lunch time.

I'm still incredibly tired and I'm so looking forward to Easter as we have no plans and I really need these four days off! Four days to have slow relaxing morning's without setting the alarm. Four days to hopefully enjoy the time off with my boys. Four days where Michael will be there to look after not only Alfie, but me too!

How is baby?

The baby is approximately two centimetres in size and is growing at around 1mm per day. When you think of that, it's pretty crazy. The fingers and toes have started to develop although they are still webbed and will remain this way for some time yet. The embryonic tail is now almost gone and all it's nerves and organs are starting to function.

How I'm feeling?

I feel like I'm starting to manage things better. I've been eating lots of bland foods and I've found I've really missed proper food - I've been craving spaghetti bolognaise  this week, but I've not had the energy to make it and I'm not sure how I'd cope with such a rich meal, so it'll have to wait a few more weeks yet I think. I started the week off feeling really anxious as I was worried about Easter being a write off - the last three weekends I've been fit for nothing and I really didn't want our four days off to be wasted or for me to miss out on anything because I was resting on the couch. Luckily, I got up on Good Friday and felt fine. I had no symptoms at all and I was able to enjoy the day. We went to my granparents and told them the news and it was the perfect Spring day and I was so lovely to sit out in the garden and feel some sun. It's made me desperately crave the warm summer months!

One exciting this which happened this week was on Easter Saturday, I received my letter from the hospital with my scan date which is the 21st April. At last I feel like I've finally something to work towards. I'm being quite silly in that I'm trying to convince myself that once I get to that magical 12 weeks and I've had my scan, that I'll suddenly start to feel better and this sickness and nausea will go and I'll start to feel great! However, I know that just because I've had a scan that I'll suddenly start to feel ok again and back to my old self. With Alfie, the sickness / nausea lasted until around 13 weeks.

Here's hoping it goes sooner rather than later!

7 Weeks Pregnant - Baby Number 2

Due Date:

01 November 2016

Symptoms?

The usual sickness and tiredness. I honestly feel so tired. I just have no energy. I'm still falling asleep on the couch at night as soon as Michael takes Alfie up for a bath and on the two days in the week that I'm at home in the afternoon's, I'm getting Alfie to have some quiet time just so I can lay on the couch and rest. The sickness has been back this week, mainly in the morning's before work which I'm really struggling with and I had a really bad episode on Saturday afternoon. I'd had a glass of fresh orange whilst Michael and Alfie had gone to the pie shop for dinner. I managed three mouthful's before having to run upstairs - it's the worst sickness I'd had yet and I do think it's down to the orange as the last time I had it I'd also had a bad sickness episode. This which resulted in me spending all day and night on the couch and phoning in sick to work on the Sunday. I felt so rough and it was made worse by the fact I'd barely eaten or drank anything. I felt so bad for phoning in sick, but I hadn't moved for a day and I had zero energy and could barely open my eyes - it had really knocked me for six!

How's baby?

This little pickle is now about the size of a blueberry, which is still so small! It's fingers and toes are webbed and it will be jumping about all over the place. Interestingly, by week 7, the embryo has already gone through three sets of kidney's, but they'll start to grow their final set this week.

How I'm feeling?

Honestly? I feel rubbish! I'm feeling sick most of the time, I'm being sick or heaving most morning's, I've no energy to do anything but mostly I feel guilt. Guilt that I can't be the Mummy Alfie deserves because I'm so rough all the time, guilty that he has to come down to give me a kiss night night because I've no energy to crawl the stairs, guilt that I'm relying so heavily on Michael to do everything including all the cooking when he's been at work all day. I know how precious this time is and I'm really trying to remind myself that the sickness means that the baby is growing as it should, but I feel helpless. I'm worried about the strain I'm putting on Michael with all the added pressure and upset that I've no energy to do anything with Alfie and all I want to do is sleep.

I'm finding it really hard. Especially on my long days at work (I work three full days 8-5 and two half days 8-12). I don't want to wish the time away as this well could be the last time I'm pregnant, but I just want this feeling to go and for me to have some energy so I can start to enjoy it more.

This is hard.