27 Weeks- Pregnancy Update

Do you want to know a secret? The “second trimester energy boost” is a big fat lie! Or at least it has been in my case..

I’ve been absolutely blessed this pregnancy. I’ve made it to 7 months without throwing up even once and if I compare to my pregnancy with Archer where I suffered heavily with hypermesis I can’t complain at all. It’s a hugely different experience and I was genuinely terrified I’d get that sick again. It just goes to show how different it all is every time.

Another difference is in my general aches and pains. I had bad SPD with Archer (can you tell I had a hard pregnancy with him?) and by this stage I was barely moving and about to rely on crutches and then a wheelchair... yes I’m aching but knowing it’s a risk in advance has meant I’ve taken it a whole lot easier. Jack does the strenuous tasks around the house and I’ve been implementing the movements recommended by my physio last time before it’s too late and it’s really helping.

Other than exhaustion that’s had me in bed or wanting to be in bed before it’s dark a lot of nights, I suppose the second trimester has been good to me, but the summer hasn’t.

I’ve never been pregnant this far into summer and the heat has me suffering unbelievable amounts. It’s made me feel drained and swollen and sweaty and I feel like I can’t breathe at night. I’ve been taking a damp towel to bed and sleeping with it on top of me! Pro tip right there my friends.

Baby boy kicks up a storm every day and has done for weeks. He’s definitely more mobile than the other two ever were which does mean one minute he’s kicking my bladder and I have to run to pee, and by the time I get there he’s kicking my stomach and I’ve got heartburn like you wouldn’t believe.

It’s all going very fast and I’d forget I was pregnant if I wasn’t getting so uncomfortable and worn out easily.

I genuinely have no idea how much I weigh. I focused so much on it the last two pregnancies that gaining or losing had me so anxious.... I don’t need that stress and I know I’m eating healthy and how my clothes are fitting (maternity only now!). The midwife will start measuring my bump from my next appointment onwards and though I’m showing big (third baby’s do that) I’m currently not worried about being too big or too small.

At 27 weeks, I can’t tell you the last time I saw my feet when standing without leaning forward and I haven’t seen my “downstairs” without a mirror in months now... I’m not sure I want to!

Craving wise I’ve moved beyond vinegar after months of obsession and I’m firmly into cold crunchy things. It isn’t as intense as my ice obsession with Isla but I can happily munch an entire punnet of grapes in one sitting (I do not recommend this though, as it swapped me from constipated to the other extreme).

I’m definitely shaken up about how simple this pregnancy is compared to my other two but I won’t complain in case I tempt fate! I’m enjoying it, although the hormonal tears may have you fooled. I can’t believe I’ll be full term in 10 weeks... anywhere between 10 and 15 weeks and he will be here!

Hyperemesis Gravidarum- My Experience

It's a condition you've probably seen plastered all over the news this week following the Duchess of Cambridge announcing her third pregnancy. For the third time, she is suffering with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a condition I suffered with during my second pregnancy.

If you have seen it in the news, there's no doubt you've seen this condition referred to as "extreme morning sickness". I need to say now that this is a ridiculous expression and the condition is nowhere near comparable to morning sickness of any sort. It is a serious and dangerous condition that resulted me being on IV's and heavy medication in an attempt to keep my body from drying up completely from dehydration, that thousands of women suffer with in silence.

When I was pregnant with Isla, I did not throw up even once. Slap my back and applaud, I was kicking pregnancy's ass. My second pregnancy, with Archer however, was a different story.

It all began in the early weeks when our household was hit with norovirus. Everyone seemed to get better after 2-3 days and stop throwing up except for me. I assumed it was morning sickness, except it was all day, dozens of times an hour. I would throw up until I was choking on nothing as there was nothing to come out. I couldn't keep anything down, and even imagining being sick would lead me to run to the bathroom.

Smells would set me off- something common in pregnancy... but even thinking about a smell again would have me running to the bathroom. I would wake up feeling dry- my skin felt dry, my mouth was dry, my eyes burnt. I ended up being so so often that I had to have IV fluids to top myself up. I was taking sickness pills that left me in a zombie like state as a side effect, but I had no choice.

I couldn't look after myself from exhaustion, or look after Isla. I regularly had to leave work as a result of the sickness. I was told morning sickness generally staves off around 14 weeks, but this continued into the third trimester. I would faint from exhaustion, often in public places.

By 30 weeks pregnant, I had gained no weight. I was actually lighter than when I had fallen pregnant due to the excessive weight loss caused by throwing up! My bump continued to grow perfectly though thankfully.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum is far from "extreme morning sickness". It is a lonely, crippling condition that I would not wish on anyone. It left me wishing away my pregnancy. Lots of people kept telling me it was normal and that I'd chosen to be pregnant so had to deal with it but this really isn't the case.

I hope that anyone suffering gets the help and support they need- ask relatives and friends if you need something, make sure the GP and midwives take you seriously, and don't let anyone brush it off as just a normal part of pregnancy. There are also some fantastic support groups you can find online and on Facebook and in most communities.

Did you or anyone you know suffer with HG? Share your story- I'd love to hear it.

Steph xo

Three Months Postpartum- Baby #2

Three months out! That means we're out of the fabled fourth trimester, where baby is all floppy and helpless and their instinct to not be abandoned means they shriek and cling to you for 12 weeks...

It also means I'm finally starting to feel a bit more myself and a bit more human. I'm not fully there, but it's a start and I'm definitely trying to be more patient as Archer is my second baby (although I didn't even come close to bouncing back with my first either).

Weight: I only gained 3lbs in my pregnancy as I suffered with Hyperememis Gravidarum (HG). I was still overweight to begin with though as I never lost my baby weight from Isla. I am now at 12st7 meaning I have lost 17lbs since Archer was born.

Mobility: I spent the end of my pregnancy wheelchair bound due to severe SPD (you can read about this here). My hip and pelvis still ache if I walk too far in a day and I end up limping but I'm able to get about if I take it easy which is a big improvement.

Body: I still feel pretty huge despite the weight loss. I'm smaller than I have been for two years following my 5 stone weight gain with Isla's pregnancy, but I'm not happy. I'm soft all over despite being smaller so clothes are fitting quite weird. My breasts have gotten pretty huge from breastfeeding too so I'm struggling to find anything to wear that suits them. I think a lot of it is just poor body image which is something I've always had an issue with.

Mentally: For the first few months, I did suffer with PND (post natal depression). I talked to a lot of people and this has improved, but I'm still feeling up and down. The really bad days are mostly due to my body image and how I see myself. I've dyed my hair recently which helped as I've decided to stop trying to look like "mum" and just be myself, but it's weight loss that will make me feel better I'm sure. I feel pretty burnt out when both children have a bad day and I do get stressed the day after a bad night, but at three months out it's really improving.

How were you feeling three months out?

Steph xo

Pregnancy: Why I had to be induced early

My first pregnancy with Isla, besides her attempt to be born at 31 weeks, was fairly smooth sailing. I did not have any morning sickness- not even once, I did not suffer too much with aches and pains and besides a little period of low blood pressure I was feeling fine physically for the most part.

With this in mind, I expected my second pregnancy to go as smooth, if not better, as I'd been giving the false impression that the second one is always easier. I was sorely mistaken. 

I am fully aware every pregnancy is different, but I never imagined myself unable to gain any weight, or wheelchair bound and dosing on Tramadol while injecting myself with blood thinners. With all this, I had to be induced 3 weeks early.

I suffered early on with morning sickness- except not just in the morning or a particular time of day. The sickness seemed to be hitting all day and even as a result of sipping water. After a week of it getting particularly bad I ended up in A&E. I'd woken up feeling DRY. That sounds silly, but I felt like I had heat stroke, my wee was brown and I was really dehydrated. I was given IV fluids and kept in for observations before being sent home with sickness tablets. 

The tablets made me feel like a zombie, and they didn't stop me being sick fully. I was told I was suffering with hyperemesis gravidarum. To put it into perspective, by 30 weeks pregnant, I was 4lbs UNDER my start weight at 4 weeks pregnant. My baby was growing perfectly, but I had lost so much weight that even with my fluids, the baby and the weight of my placenta I was in negative numbers.

The sickness kept me moderately house bound, however around 28 weeks pregnant I noticed I was beginning to ache around my hips and pelvis and leaving the house was a slow painful process. I'd intended to work until 34 weeks, but by 30 weeks I found my 5 minute walk to work had turned in 20 minutes and I would be barely able to walk for the rest of the day.

My pelvis had misaligned due to a severe acute case of SPD. I jumped from walking with a limp and aches, to needing crutches, and within 2 weeks of me noticing it, I was in a wheelchair for any journey further than 1 minute. I was having to take Tramadol up to four times a day- a drug so strong it is not recommended for pregnancy and is highly addictive. I was also having to inject myself with blood thinners due to my lack of mobility, to avoid clotting.

The sickness, the wheelchair, the pain... it left me unable to look after myself, let alone my two year old daughter or my family and home. I couldn't cope with my mood. I was crying every day and I began to fear I was going to hate the baby as a result.

The midwife took one look at me and booked me in to see a specialist and arrange induction as early as was safe for the baby. It was not in my best interest to be pregnant anymore. The benefit for baby to stay inside was being outweighed by the drugs I was having to put in, and the affect it was having on myself and my families mental well-being.

Archer was born at 37 weeks following a two day induction, and within a few days I was able to move around the house with ease and I felt a million times better. The pain and sickness seemed to subside hours after he was born- it felt like a miracle. 

My pelvis still aches, three months out, if I walk too far or for too long. I have to remember the severity could have caused permanent damage and am still waiting for my follow up physio, so hope it goes away for good one day.

Were you induced at the end of pregnancy? Did you suffer with HG or SPD? I'd love to hear from you- let me know!

Steph xo