I am 23 weeks pregnant today and I would like to
share my first 21 weeks with you.
This is my first pregnancy and so everything is new, exciting and
sometimes scary. I was prepared for the ‘process’ of trying for a baby to be a
long one and I had done all the research I could to prepare my husband and I for the coming months. The main task for me in
the start was to monitor my cycles, which was easy and I found they were in
sync a lot quicker than I had expected.
We decided not to rush
things and continued to keep track of everything, but surprisingly, 4 months
later I found myself expecting! I felt so lucky for things to have happened so
quickly and I am thankful everyday. However, I was also nervous, having never
been in this position before. When I took the pregnancy test I was about 5
weeks pregnant. I wanted to get the ball rolling with doctors and midwives as
soon as possible.
I went to the doctors a couple of days after taking the pregnancy
test. I was surprised to find they did not do a test to confirm. Apparently
modern home tests are so good, plus the signs were there, that the doctor didn’t need to do one. If I’m honest, I felt a
little disappointed, I think I felt I needed someone else to confirm it to me,
even though, of course, I knew I was pregnant!
I left the doctor’s, having made my
first midwife appointment, for 8 weeks pregnant, which felt so long away,
feeling a little bit in limbo! We told our families, who were all hugely
excited and waited for that first appointment. About a week later I had some
odd pains and was advised to have an ‘emergency
scan’. I was extremely nervous and just wanted to
know that everything was OK. It was. There was our baby, a tiny little white
blob on the screen!
It was around this time that I started a diary. I don’t write in it everyday, but it helped in those early days when
everything was so new, to keep a note of how I felt, and what changes I had
noticed. I think this will be great to look back on and I would recommend it.
I was feeling tired, lethargic, was going to the loo a lot more and, I
wouldn’t say nauseous, but just ‘bluergh’! Again, I was very
lucky as I did not have any actual sickness, just the feeling and a strange
taste in my mouth, some say it is a metallic taste.
I had the first midwife appointment, which just ‘checks you in’, takes medical
history, weight, blood pressure and blood test. It was then another wait for
the 12 week scan, which was just after Christmas.
The scan went well and we could see the baby’s heart
beat, which was amazing! We also got the official EDD (estimated due date),
which is in July.
I found the next few weeks a bit strange. I stopped feeling so tired
and the bluergh feeling subsided. But I didn’t really
have a bump and it was too early to feel kicks. The only real sign I was
pregnant was the need to buy a new bra!
From about 17 weeks pregnant my bump was starting to form and I thought I could feel the baby move. I am not sure if it
was, but from what other people had described I was convinced it was. For me it
feels like bubbling, a bit like a tummy rumble, or wind!! At 19 weeks I knew
what had been feeling was definitely the baby kicking. I was having a bath and
felt the baby move and also saw it move too. Only a little, but it was there. I
love the feeling, it lets me know the baby is there, it’s like
it’s saying hello!
At almost 21 weeks I had the 20 week/anomaly scan. They check for all
kinds of problems that there could be with the baby’s
development and so you get to see the baby in amazing detail. I was blown away
by what I saw. The chambers of the heart, the brain, the bones in the hands and
feet and you can see it moving around.
We have decided to keep the baby’s gender a surprise. I like hearing people’s
theories on what I am having. It is one true mystery. My bump is now a definite
baby bump, with strangers even saying congratulations, although I think this is
a bit risky!
I hope the second half of my pregnancy will be as smooth and exciting
and I hope you will join me on the journey.
Amy x
Weekly images from appox. 18 weeks
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