Weeks 14-18

Well it’s amazing how time flies when you’re not feeling like the walking dead!I honestly haven’t really been keeping up with this journal since emerging from the black hole, otherwise know as the first trimester. In many ways I don’t feel like there’s been much to report, you know ‘no news is good news’ and all that.

The nausea has gradually been subsiding more and more since 13 weeks and whilst I don’t feel normal, I feel so much better that I feel like having a party for one with the sheer improvement. I remember with Maggie I had very low level nausea the whole way through until she the moment she was out of me and as if by magic I remembered what ‘normal’ actually felt like. So this time around its seems like it will be much the same. I usually feel a bit ‘iffy’ post breakfast for about half an hour and the same after lunch which is usually resolved by sucking a good number of polos in quick succession but all in all its very manageable and there’s no worry that I’ll actually throw up, it’s just not that strong.

Whilst I haven’t had that huge burst of second trimester energy people chat a lot about, I have had comparably much more energy than in the first trimester although lets be honest, that isn’t a hard! I haven’t needed to nap in the afternoons but I still notice that tiredness will very suddenly hit me at random points. I can all too easily get carried away with having more energy and probably do a bit too much and hey presto…I feel like I might take a trip to the land of nod whilst standing up!

My main time of tiredness however is first thing in the morning which is once again exactly the same as when I was pregnant with Maggie. It feels totally alien to me as I’m such a morning person in my non-pregnant state and yet right now I’m out cold until Nick wakes me up to give me the baby monitor when he’s headed for a shower. With Maggie I would easily sleep in until 8/8.30am but I’m being woken up around 7 just before Maggie wakes so I can try and squeeze in a bit of reading and praying before the day starts. Thankfully I know this time around that the morning tiredness won’t last forever. It was a genuine worry last time that I would forever be a sloth in the mornings which I wasn’t sure I was ok with.

Thankfully the big ol’ random cravings have passed well and truly. No more chips, salted crisps or wine gums, phew! It’s been back to normal pretty much which has been amazing. I really hate feeling like I’m eating crap all the time. The only thing I still can’t deal with is liver but then I only really make myself like it at the best of times anyway!

One big bit of news is those early flutters have turned into full on mini kicks and it’s amazing to already be feeling it. I didn’t feel a proper kick until the afternoon after our 20 week scan last time so this feels like a real treat and helps me feel a bit calmer in anticipation of the next scan. Nick even felt a few of the kicks the other night which was so special. It sounds so silly but I immediately forgot what those movements felt like postpartum last time and now they just feel all too familiar.

Pregnancy Diary: 14-20 Weeks16 week bump

Weeks 18-20

How are we already here?! So nearly halfway which seems crazy! I really am so much bigger than last time which in some ways is nice because I look obviously pregnant rather than tubby but it also makes me concerned that I’ll be the size of a truck by the third trimester.

I’m still feeling fairly similar but steadily less emotional which is a relief. It’s nice to give my tear ducts a bit of a rest. I have however been already struggling with worsened sciatica quite a bit, peppered with a bit of SPD which I never felt this early with Maggie. I think I was about 35 weeks when I was introduced to that joy last time but it at least comes and goes. Last week there I couldn’t stand on one leg at all and the sciatica made it hard to walk most days but then I’ve been feeling much closer to normal since so perhaps it will be up and down for a bit.

Despite the above I’ve been enjoying exercise much more even though I’m very aware of feeling limited. I’ve still been doing yoga, pilates and swimming but have sporadically been doing a bit of prenatal cardio too which feels good.

I am undeniably super duper hungry and thirsty. It takes a lot for this camel to feel thirsty so obviously my body needs all the water it can get! The hunger in the other hand is a slight inconvenience! I’m not a natural snacker so I’m kind of getting bored of needing to eat something every 2 hours, not to mention I feel like it’s costing us a fortune! I’ve even resorted to buying a whole pack of manchego sticks wrapped in chorizo from Tescos and eating all 8 in a sitting! I never usually do that and I hate to think how that meat and cheese made it’s way onto the shelf *sighs. I’ve been feeling really lightheaded if I don’t eat regularly and the last week I’ve actually felt pretty nauseous at the same time every evening, about 6pm and i’ve realised it’s because I’m hungry. To remedy this I’ve had to introduce the early evening snack which sits between the mid afternoon snack and dinner. Totally extravagant if you ask me but I’ll do as baby says.

Pregnancy Diary: 14-20 Weeks

Things get more and more real all the time. Maggie seems to somewhat understand there’s a baby in my tummy as at the mention of ‘baby’ sparks a little point and kiss on my belly. It’s very cute! I have moments of panic about trying to work with another baby but no real, lasting anxiety which is very different to last time. I think I know it’s kinda of out of my control. Our plans were thwarted last time and yet God kindly made my business thrive at a time that made no sense at all so I’m happy to see what he has in store this time. There’s really no point in worrying as I can’t do anything if we get a bad sleeper this time around or a sickly bubba. I won’t be able to stop Maggie hitting a tough phase at the exact time this baby is born if it’s already destined to happen eh?! I know I wasted so much time worrying about the intricacies of it all last time so I really want to learn from that and trust God more this time.

And so we wait for the scan which actually falls at 20 weeks + 4 this time so I’ll let you know how it goes. I was so convinced it was a girl before as everything has been so similar but now I’m not so sure. It sounds silly but as soon as I saw the baby at the 12 week scan I just had this feeling it was a boy but couldn’t explain why. Along with that there are a few things that differ to carrying Maggie.For one my skin is a heck of a lot better this time around, in fact nothing abnormal at all and I’ve recently noticed the hair on my body grows much quicker at the moment. I know they sometimes says that happens when you have a boy because of the hormonal difference. My bump is slightly different too, more out the front if that makes sense, in fact it looks like a comedy bump from my view looking down but we’ll see. This time around I honestly don’t mind although I think Nick’s quite up for another girl.

Pregnancy Diary: 14-20 Weeks20 week bump

20 week scan

It’s a boy! I think Nick was genuinely in shock as he was so convinced it was a girl. I have to say I feel like I’m still processing the news because we’re only used to a girl. It almost feels like being first time parents again, a little clueless with what we’re doing with this new creature.

We took Maggie into the scan which I’m not sure they like but she said she could stay as long as she was quiet and didn’t get fussy. She was a little dreamboat, just sat on Daddy’s lap only to point and whisper at the screen, ‘bubba’ over and over. It was beyond sweet! The sonographer was very thorough in talking us through every section, view and organ and all was well and completely normal except this little boy has a very chubby tummy! She made me get back on the chair to have another look and measure and she confirmed our chap is rotund! I thought it was kind of funny as My Tat (Grandpa), brother and nephew all of disproportionally large bellies but she said I’d need to be checked for gestational diabetes just in case. I’m not going to lie that put a real dampener on things as I know that if positive you have to have more monitoring and are often put under pressure to be induced early, all things I don’t want for baby’s sake just as much as me.

We asked to have the sex written down and put in an envelope to take with us. We had a quick lunch nearby before Nick went back to work and opened it up while we ate. Both times I’ve felt so nervous finding out and I literally don’t know why. I guess its just telling you something about your future which feels so final. It just feels like a big deal even if you don’t mind either way!

Now we can plan a bit. I’m thanking my former self for dressing Maggie in almost totally unisex clothes for the first 3 months of her life, total money saver!

So here I am waiting to have my blood test post disgusting sugar solution of doom. I’m very glad I bought my laptop but not so glad I forgot my charger so I’m currently watching my battery level deplete minute by minute. In an hour I’ll have my next blood test and then I’ll have to wait for a doctors appointment after that…nothing like starving a pregnant lady and then wasting most of her childcare hours in a hospital. Here’s hoping this little lad is just podgy in the middle without anything more to it! So strange to be able to say ‘he’ and ‘him’ now eek!

Pregnancy Diary: 14-20 Weeks

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