I’m Pregnant! Thoughts On The First Trimester…

If you’ve been following along with my journey over the years, you will know I haven’t had the easiest path to pregnancy. However, I am over the moon to share the news that I am pregnant!!!

We put trying for a baby on the back-burner this year as it was a difficult start to the year, then October rolled around, I was turning 35 and we were ready to give IVF a third shot. This time felt different – I was in the fittest shape I’d been in years – thanks for running, taking care of myself, healthy eating and doing a variety of work-outs at the gym, so we thought why not?

We kept it so quiet this time round, barely telling a soul, so there felt less pressure for expectations and keeping everyone updated. To our shock, we found out a week before my birthday that I was officially pregnant! I did SO many pregnancy tests because I couldn’t quite believe the news, but I was feeling good. As well as this, we thought we would have to deal with a couple more rounds of IVF before it would finally be successful! So, the news didn’t really sink in, but I had a little cry. Happy tears of course!

As I type, I’m just over 12 weeks and due in early July. It could possibly be the end of June if I have a C-section. The first trimester has certainly had its challenges but I keep reminding myself how lucky we are and how next year I finally get to be a mum. Which feels very surreal after eight years of longing and waiting!

We’ve had three scans, one at 7 weeks, another at 9 weeks and we had our 12 week scan recently – which was a HUGE milestone. Baby is all good, a bit of a wrigglier which I find rather cute. We have an inkling it’s a girl as it’s implanted on the left side, but we will find out the gender in a few weeks – We’re happy either way.
The midwifes, doctors and everyone involved have been so incredibly lovely and so helpful, I have so many appointments next year, so it’s nice to get the extra support.
I was on Utrogestan medication from the very beginning but I have stopped it at 12 weeks as I no longer need as I’m past the 12 week mark. I’m taking Pregacare Max, Iron supplements and folic acid 5mg.

My diet was ridiculously healthy leading up to the pregnancy and a couple of weeks in. I remember having a lot of avocados, drinking beetroot juice, and having lots of nutritious salads and soups. Oh and just drinking water or decaf earl grey tea. At the moment, I’m eating whatever I fancy, being less strict. I have been eating meats again as my body is craving the protein – especially chicken. I’ve put on quite a bit of weight recently, which was a bit of a shocker, but I need to cut myself some slack as I’m growing a human and have been doing less exercise. I still try and go for a walk every day, but I don’t have the energy like I used to.

Moving on to pregnancy symptoms… I’ve had a lot of pregnancy sickness, nausea and tiredness. I’m hoping it settles down soon. There have been plenty of days where I’ve been a couch potato and other days where I’m marching 10,000 steps around my village. I take each day as it comes, but I’m really trying to not be so hard on myself.
I also had implantation bleeding, very sore boobs and heart-burn.

Other than that, I’m ready to enter my second trimester. I’m determined to get back into a routine with gym and work-outs soon. I don’t think I’ll run during my pregnancy, but as soon as I’m recovered from the birth I will be out running again.

I’m very excited about the women’s Euro’s being on when I’m due – might have to buy a little England outfit for the baby! I’m also excited to have a baby moon at some point next year, not sure if we plan to stay in the UK or go abroad. Depends on how I’m feeling during the pregnancy. The dream would be to go to the Maldives, but I need to be careful with Zika virus and other risks, plus, it isn’t wise to be so far away in case anything happens.

I’m also delighted to get started on the nursery and prepare our home for the little one. I went push-chair shopping last week – it was quite overwhelming, so I need to go back in the new year and finalize my decision. There is so much to think about in terms of what to buy and preparing for life when baby comes.

Anyway, I finally wanted to share the news on my blog and have a little natter about my first trimester! If anyone has any questions, feel free to reach out or leave a comment!