Well, I can’t quite believe I’m writing this post but here we are… I’m pregnant! Michael and I are going to be parents and we couldn’t be happier! I can’t wait to share my pregnancy diaries with you, starting with my first trimester. At the beginning of the year, Michael and I had talked about wanting to start trying for a baby. In fact, I even shared that ambition with you guys in my 2019 Vision Board blog post, which was a rather scary thing to put out on the Internet, but looking back now makes me realise how blessed we are.
Honestly, I thought we would start trying much later in the year, mainly because I like to overly plan things but Michael had other ideas! He wanted to start trying in Bali and because I’d been told I may struggle to conceive due to my suspected PCOS I thought it would be smart to start trying sooner rather than later. Well, I can happily say we came home from an amazing Bali honeymoon with the best souvenir ever, a bun in the oven!
Finding out
I’ve been using the app Clue to track my periods for around 2 years now but before that, I thought my periods were pretty irregular because the app I used before stuck to 28-day cycles, which mine isn’t. Once I switched to Clue it became pretty good at predicting my period within 1-2 days and 2 days after Clue said I should’ve started, there was still no sign. I didn’t know what to think at this point, as I knew it was still possible for me to just have a late month and come on at any point, but part of me started to get excited and think this could be a sign of pregnancy. Five days after I was due, my excitement had changed to hope and also desperation to tell someone. I’d decided I didn’t want to tell Michael until I was sure, so I text my friend Jenny who has an 18-month-old and at that point was five months pregnant herself so she could relate to how I was feeling. I felt like I was in limbo, just hoping my period wouldn’t come and analysing every sensation I could feel to see if it was my period starting, or possibly a baby.
Nine days after I was due on I finally took a pregnancy test as it was a Friday and I work from home on Fridays. My hope and excitement had really built up by this point, so I knew if it was a negative test I would be really disappointed and not want to face anyone in the office and likewise if it was a positive test as I’d probably find it impossible not to blurt it out to someone. I’d never taken a pregnancy test before and those 3 minutes went sooooo slowlyyyy. Luckily the test was positive and a very strong line too so there was no mistaking it, I was pregnant!
Telling Michael
I found out on a Friday morning after Michael was already at work, and that weekend he was away camping to run his Spartan obstacle course races and wasn’t going to be home until Sunday. It killed me not to blurt out the news whilst we were messaging each other all weekend, but I knew I wanted to wait until he was home and do a cute reveal for him. He came home, shattered after running three tough races and just wanted to slump on the sofa and eat the pizza we’d ordered, but I told him I’d bought him a little something and that he had to open it right away.
I’d put together a little gift box with a card, the pregnancy test, a bib and a babygro inside. He lifted up the bib and read the message on the front “Little Lion”, still not quite understanding what it meant. I’d love to know what was going through his head at that moment and if he thought I’d bought the bib for him haha. Then he lifted the babygro and saw the pregnancy test laying underneath and the surprise hit his face. “You’re pregnant?! Ooooh that’s outrageous!” he said haha. Neither of us expected to get pregnant straight away, in our minds we’d just stopped using contraception and were prepared to have to try for a while due to my suspected PCOS and the doctors warned me of that, but wow we were lucky!! I actually filmed Michael’s reaction so check out my Instagram to see the video.
Pregnancy Weeks 6-8
I tried a few due date calculators online and one said 20th February which I clung to because the date 20.02.20 is so pleasing, just like the date of our wedding, 08.08.18, even though the majority of the calculators said the 13th February! Turns out neither the 13th or the 20th are our due date but we’ll get to that later. I downloaded the Pregnancy+ app and read up on all the growing our baby had done before we even realised I was pregnant. It’s crazy how quickly things progress! The app said my boobs might be tender as they start to grow, but not for me, not even a hint of growth. Instead, I was greeted with a metallic taste in my mouth which put me off the taste of water, so I started drinking flavoured water and Ribena which I never usually do.
Pregnancy Weeks 8-10
Man, tiredness hit me out of nowhere. Everyone says that you’ll be exhausted and sleep-deprived once the baby is here, but no one tells you about pregnancy exhaustion! I found myself wanting to fall asleep at my desk around 3-4pm, like actually having to fight against my eyes wanting to close! Then my evenings became drastically shorter as I started going to bed around 9pm. Oh and let me not forget the spots! My skin is usually quite good and I only get one or two spots when around that time of the month, but every day I seemed to discover a new one cropping up no matter how on it I was with my skincare. I can’t complain too much because I haven’t been hit by sickness which I’m incredibly thankful for! I hate being sick and don’t think I could’ve kept it a secret if I was sick.
Pregnancy Weeks 11-12
The tiredness didn’t go anywhere, but Michael was onboard with the earlier bedtime which helps. We’re officially that old married couple in bed by 9pm! I realised I hadn’t reached for chocolate for the past month and now prefer salt & vinegar crisps and peanuts, which isn’t like me at all, I’ve always been a chocolate-over-crisps kinda gal. Oh and tuna, I craved tuna sandwiches so strongly, but of course, I have to limit how much tuna I eat so I haven’t really given in to the craving too much. One positive is that my boobs finally started to grow – hallelujah! As someone with B-cups, I’m very grateful at any extra cuppage I can get haha.
Since finding out we’re expecting, Michael and I realised we’d need to move out of our 1-bed flat into a 2-bed so I’d been looking to see what’s out there and get an idea of what area we could afford and would like, as 2-beds in our area are too expensive. We weren’t in a rush to move as the baby will share our bedroom for the first 6 months, so we had a year to find somewhere, but we actually found a flat we really liked and we got it! Crap, now we had to pack up all our belongings and move!
Pregnancy Weeks 12-13
Weeks 12-13 were jam-packed, we moved to a completely new area, had our 12-week scan and told our friends and family. Moving was stressful and cost way, way more than I’d ever anticipated, but we really like our new flat and it’s much more spacious than our old place. It’s fun to peek into the spare bedroom knowing it will be our baby’s nursery one day!
Our scan was surreal. Up until this point, we’d only had one doctor’s appointment and one midwife appointment and no one tested me as home pregnancy tests are so accurate these days. Our scan date was the day before our first wedding anniversary and I was so excited, but also nervous in case something was wrong. The first thing the midwife said was “OK, let’s see how many babies are in there” and I thought “Please just one!” I don’t think I’m ready for twins for my first pregnancy! Seeing our baby on the screen was incredible, Michael was speechless. Our baby was moving a lot which made it difficult to get a great picture, but it also surprised me as I couldn’t feel the movements and won’t for a few weeks yet.
Once we’d had our scan we saw our family asap to tell them the news and their reactions were the best. We managed to film their reactions and I’ve shared the video on my Instagram. Then we spread the news to our friends and it’s been so exciting to finally reveal our news!!
So there we have it, the first of my pregnancy diaries. I’m not sure how often I’ll do these yet, if I’ll stick to trimesters, or if I’ll update you more often, I guess I’ll wait and see how often things change. Keep an eye on my Instagram though as I’ll be sure to post more regular updates on there. This is such an exciting journey and one that still feels surreal to me – I can’t believe I’m going to be a Mum and be holding my very own baby at the end of this!!
