I haven’t really done any blogging before, but I wanted to share my experiences as hopefully it may help someone. I’m a second time mum, I have a 3 year old little boy and our new baby will be due in July 2019.
I found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks, it was a little surprising as last time I had loads of early symptoms - bloating, sore boobs, nausea and also a weird metallic taste in my mouth like my tooth was bleeding?! But this time it was a missed period. We were over the moon and so excited that Reuben (our son) would have a little brother or sister. For us it will complete our little family.
I got to 6 weeks and there was no morning sickness, something I had suffered with last time, although every couple of hours I was getting hunger pains in my tummy when it was time to snack, so mini cheddars to the rescue again! Anything plain and salty really helps me.
I successfully managed the sickness for a couple of weeks and then bam… it started. Sometimes I was being sick 2-3 times a day, other times it was just queasiness and a lot of retching, bleurgh! The only way to manage it was eating little and often, constantly snacking, honestly quite exhausting to keep up! I found if I was stressed it got worse, so I really used my breathing techniques to calm myself down. Listening to relaxations in the evening really helped the next day, it would give me a more positive outlook.
Honestly, I find the first trimester the hardest bit. I am sorry to be a moaner, as I do like to be positive, but it gets me down mentally and physically. For me, sickness is very much associated with my anxiety as when it’s at its worst, I throw up, so it just has connotations of being in a bad place mentally for me. I know it is my body adjusting to the pregnancy and I did take some comfort from that, as I know that ultimately morning sickness is a good sign, but it’s hard to re-wire my anxious brain! However, sometimes when I have felt sickly it has helped when I throw it up, release and move on, usually needing to eat straight away as my stomach would be empty.
The sickness has also limited me socially, I know it is in my head but the thought of being around friends or in a public place when feeling sick just fills me with dread, although ultimately it would have been what I needed to take my mind of everything.
The first three months can be a lonely time as no one knows until that 12 week scan. But we have had our scan now, we have seen our little baby jumping around in my womb, the heartbeat was there and it was performing for us! It was so special, we are so blessed. Yes it has been a hard few months, but I know it will pass. This time I know it’s all about phases… Thank you baby for surviving on crackers, toast and ice-cream! Roll on the next trimester where I can fill you full of fruit and veg!
If anybody has felt any of the above and would like to chat, I’m here and would love to help if I can. I know I have found solace in blogs about sickness or pics on Instagram that have made me feel like… ‘it’s not just me!’
I would also like to mention ladies that suffer with hyperemesis gravidarum, I can totally understand how this could make you feel anxious or maybe even depressed. My sickness has been bad, but not as bad as it could have been.
I urge you to seek help you are not feeling yourself and need some help to process things. Please speak to your midwife or doctor, or there are plenty of organisations that can help too. You can call PANDAS on 0843 28 98 401 or visit their website for more information www.pandasfoundation.org.uk
Other things to note at this stage...
- I have been in maternity jeans for around 4 weeks! I couldn't stand the feeling of a tight button on my tummy.
- I wake up religiously at 4am every morning, as I need to eat something, no wonder I'm asleep by 8pm!
- My smell is a super power, I really do feel that this is a mechanism to protect the baby. I threw up when there was a squashed mouldy pear in the fruit bowl - my body was telling me not to go near it!
- My uterus is tipped backwards and I need to go back for another scan to get the measurements of the baby, this has meant there is more pressure on my bladder - I'm sure you can imagine the reprecussions of this!
- A cute thing Reuben said - we were at his swimming lesson and he said 'look mummy the baby's swimming' I said, 'where' and turned around to look...'In your tummy mummy, the baby's swimming' **heart melts**
Kate x
ReplyForward