23w 1d: low-maintenance parenting

I'm quite enjoying this stage of pregnancy.

There are things that make me nervous about taking care of my baby while he (or she) is still inside. Mainly, I can't see him to check up on him; I have to wait for him to kick me so that I know he's ok. Plus, we're sharing a body -- if I get sick, he might get sick too. And little things, like I am starting to get a little tired from carrying this extra weight all the time... at least once he's born, I can put him down sometimes.

But on the other hand, there's so much I don't have to worry about right now! The baby gets fed automatically -- all I have to do is make sure I eat plenty myself. (Not. A. Problem.) I always know where he is. He doesn't cry. I can take him anywhere with me. He pees, but I don't have to do anything about it. He's never too hot or too cold. And yet, I feel more and more aware of the baby's presence -- especially when I'm getting lots of kicks, I don't feel alone even if there's nobody else at home. I'm hanging out with my kid.

So in a way, it's the best of both worlds.

22w0d

So, I haven't been updating here much lately. Since I went public about being pregnant, I've been talking more about it on my personal blog, and on a forum on another site. But I don't want to abandon this one.

The pregnancy is going well. I'm getting lots of kicks, and Don has been able to feel a couple of them too, and can even hear them if he puts his ear to my belly. (I'm a little jealous of that, but I also like that he and the baby can share something that's just between them.) We had the anatomy scan this week, and everything looked good -- it was great to see the baby wiggling around, swallowing and poking his or her tongue out.

I'm feeling ok in myself. There are aches and pains and mind-boggling boob itches, but nothing serious. Overall I'm enjoying pregnancy, which in my first trimester I thought would be impossible. I'm more than halfway through now and can't wait to meet my little person.

19w0d

So it's been a while since I posted here, and this will just be a quick update.

My pregnancy is going fine. But we have had a tragedy in the family; a few weeks ago, one of my sisters lost her baby, at full term.

As you can imagine, it's a difficult time right now.

But I have one little comfort -- I am getting more and more sure that I can feel my baby moving.

15w0d: keeping on

Things are still going well. The hospital appointment went fine -- the place is quite bureaucratic and a little overcrowded, but the staff seemed nice. They also seemed quite pro-breastfeeding, which is encouraging -- I think I disappointed the midwife a little bit, as she was all geared up to convince me I should BF, and seemed a little deflated when I said I'd already decided to do it. Don got a leaflet on how husbands can support breastfeeding mothers, which should have been titled "How to be a basically decent human being" -- it was full of useful advice like "Look after the baby for a little while so that your partner can sleep or have a bath," "Help out around the house so your partner can feed the baby," and "Spend time with your baby in order to bond." YOU DON'T SAY.

I had another scan, which was fun. Baby was standing on its head and waving its hands around -- we could see all the fingers and toes, as well as the spine, which looked like a little feather. I also got a blood test and they said I was anaemic, so I've been put on some heavy-duty iron tablets, and have been feeling a lot better since: less tired, less down, less out of breath.

After the hospital appointment we broke the news about the baby -- mainly on Facebook. That was a big relief because we don't have to keep things secret any more. And it was nice to get congratulated by everyone :)

Overall I'm very glad to be out of the first trimester -- I wasn't prepared for how hard it would be, and the whole thing was quite a shock. Now onward and upward!

12w1d: still here

Just checking in. Things are going well. I'm a lot less depressed now and starting to get my energy back, and my boobs are much less sore. And I have more of a bump -- well, sometimes! In the mornings I just look a little fat, but by night-time I look very pregnant. I've had to switch to maternity tights and, because I couldn't find any maternity jeans to fit me, I'm getting a belly band so I can keep wearing my old trousers for a little while.

Haven't had any more bleeding in a while now, and I'm feeling more relaxed about things. I have my booking-in appointment with the midwives in a week, and assuming that goes well I'm prepared to tell everyone about the baby. Although I think people would start to figure it out by themselves pretty soon...

9w4d: Fooooood om nom nom

I was all set to see if I'd get cravings for obscure foods. I had a couple of weeks where I was really keen on yogurt, then got really into grapefruits for a while. Now I'm just sort of obsessed with food in general -- I want everything I see people eating on TV, and everything I hear mentioned. I'm literally lying awake some nights thinking about corned beef, or kosher hot dogs from this one railway café in Germany (sob). I was telling my parents about this today, and my dad pulled out a piece of paper and asked for a list of everything I'd like him to make for me (he's a great cook). So I rattled off a list -- homemade granola, pineapple upside-down cake, cornbread, fishcakes with cheese sauce, gazpacho, Jamaican sweet potato pudding, a particular kind of potato salad, coleslaw, atole, hummus, and more... He looked a bit panicked when he realised how long the list was getting, but then got excited by the challenge. So, over the next month or two he's going to make all this stuff (some of which I haven't even eaten since primary school). It's pretty nice of him, I think :)

Aside from the food obsession, things have been up and down. I have distinct good days and bad days; Saturday I had a total meltdown (starting with early-morning nightmares), spent half the day in bed, and was convinced this pregnancy wasn't going to last. I had to miss my brother's 30th birthday party, which I felt really bad about even though he totally understood (his wife had a baby earlier this year). Yesterday and today I feel completely fine -- healthy and sane and happy, as if Saturday never happened. So, to use a hideous cliché, I'm taking things one day at a time and just enjoying the good days when I have them. Also, I'm having a lot less nausea, which is great.

Oh, and I have a bump of sorts! Well, I know it isn't actually made of womb or baby, but clearly my organs are being all pushed out of place, because my belly is sticking way out all of a sudden. I can still fit into most of my jeans because I live in the past and wear baggy low-rise ones, but I have to wear my belt really loose now, especially when I'm eating. Anything tight on my belly feels really weird (I had to cut the waistband off a pair of tights the other day, while I was wearing them). It's probably not something another person would notice unless they were looking for it, but if I'm wearing something clingy I definitely look pregnant. Yay!

8w6d: Scan update

So, the scan went well (aside from the fact that it felt like I was getting my bladder ironed). There is just the one baby (thank goodness); it has a heartbeat and it wiggles around. We got photos and a nice little video clip.


The hormones are not being kind to me. I am wavering in my determination to honestly describe my experiences; I wrote a post describing how I feel at the moment, and I had to delete it. I know I just have to wait this out, but I hate feeling that I'm missing out -- I want to feel joyful and excited, and most of the time I'm just... not.