For some reason sharing the news made it feel a whole lot more real. I suddenly felt a huge amount of pressure to ensure all stayed ok.
My pregnancy overall was classed as high risk due to having high blood pressure even pre pregnancy therefore increasing the risk of pre eclampsia. Therefore I was under consultant led care. Most would panic seeing “high risk” sprawled over their maternity notes. I saw it as a positive – it meant I would get extra care and extra scans which meant extra reassurance.
First Trimester
My first trimester I had a few scares due to bleeding but after a few scans all appeared normal thanks to the almighty. I had more scans in the first trimester than most do in their whole pregnancy!! The local private scan clinic was on speed dial throughout my pregnancy lol.
It was a huge period of adjustment – getting used to the morning sickness (always whilst brushing my teeth!), the constant feeling of tiredness, the loss in appetite, the constant worry of my unborn child ANDDD the reality that I was soon going to be a mummy! I found that sniffing lemon candles helped with the sickness as did ginger biscuits!
Once I‘d passed the 12 week mark, I purchased the Sonoline Fetal Doppler from amazon based on reviews. It was on offer for £24.99 at the time and it was definitely a great buy. I know a lot of people aren’t comfortable with using a doppler at home but we found it really useful. It gave me that reassurance at home. I asked my midwife to show me how to use it and it never took longer than a minute or two to find baby’s heartbeat. The doppler was great but I often found the sound a little husky.
My food aversions:
- Stir fry
-
Chinese
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Soya
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Thai
-
Egg
My food cravings:
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| First trimester baby bump |
Second Trimester
My second trimester got a lot better in terms of sickness but I suffered with sciatica. My blood pressure was also a constant worry but by this point I was going to day care twice a week to be monitored. Though the appointments lasted on average two hours each time (sometimes up to four!!), I really got to know all the midwives on the maternity ward at Hillingdon Hospital (Katherine Ward). They were absolutely amazing! I find their job so fascinating. I doubt there is any other job quite like it. I wish I had it in me to become a midwife. They provide so much care, comfort and reassurance to women who are so vulnerable. I don’t know what I would have done without them. Getting to know them so well served me well during labour.
I was also seeing my consultant at least once a month by this point and had a really great rapport with her. She was great at discussing things with us as opposed to simply calling all the shots. She was an absolute God Send and I felt blessed to have all the right people surrounding me through such a scary journey.
Second trimester is when I really started to feel baby’s movements by about 25 weeks. We felt our first kick just before we were about to leave home for the airport to catch our flight to Dubai for our last baby free holiday. It was such an amazing feeling and Preetam also got to feel it.
We signed up to NCT classes which were a huge eye opener – especially the pictures of ladies in labour! 😮 I had no idea that’s what I was going to look like – my dreams of wanting to look well made up and perfect during labour quickly came to an end!! We found NCT classes helpful in understanding the labour process but not necessarily with life post birth. Nevertheless we made some great friends who we regularly meet up with now. It’s such a great way to share and consult too as you are all on the same journey. Also helps that one of my NCT buddies is a nanny of 20 years!
We decided to opt for the 4D scan at 28 weeks. It was a lovely experience seeing our baby bobbing about in colour and in 3D. He always had a habit of putting his hand to his head every time we had a scan, this one was no different! We had our 4D scan at The London Scan Clinic at Harley Street – I would highly recommend them, they were always happy to answer any questions we had and always tried their best to get baby at different angles.
We decided not to find out the sex of the baby as we always said we wanted our first to be a surprise. That was really difficult for me as I’m a total control freak and love to be organised. I don’t do well with uncertainty!
Second trimester is when I started making a shopping list for baby and we also made a start on the nursery. I felt so apprehensive about even putting a list together – I felt like I was tempting fate. It was all so odd.
My food aversions:
- 1st trimester plus
- Kidney beans
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Dry fenugreek
My food cravings:
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| Second trimester baby bump |
Third Trimester
My third trimester got harder as I got bigger and my sciatica got worse. I also suffered with carpal tunnel which was painful but wrist splints fitted by the hospital really helped though they were pretty restrictive at times! I was hospitalised a few times due to fluctuations in my blood pressure and increased risk of pre eclampsia and palpitations. It was nerve wracking but I had the constant reassurance of my little baby’s punches, kicks and rolls to know all was ok! Being hospitalised was odd as I was surrounded by other women at different stages of pregnancy. Some were in early stages of labour – some looked so composed, whilst others were bawling; some were admitted for the same reason as me whilst others were still very early on.
Not sure about others, but when I was pregnant, I almost wished time away as it’s a rollercoaster of anxiety and excitement and I just wanted baby to be here safe. But as I got closer to the finish line, I almost wanted to hit the pause button as I realised how much my life was about to change.
My sister in law gave me the best advice to go off on maternity leave early to enjoy some me time and it was one of the best pieces of advice I was given. I left work seven weeks early and did all the things I felt like doing – afternoon teas with friends, lunch dates with my parents, spa day with my sisters, shopping trips with my sister in law, chilling on the sofa and watching movies, but most of all I wanted to catch up with friends and family that had babies to get used to what life was soon to become. I fully made the most out of my seven weeks off and really enjoyed that time.
My food aversions:
- Same as first and second trimester
My food cravings:
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| Third trimester baby bump |
Thanks for reading! I’ll be sharing my birthing story next 🙂 x
