Jen's Pregnancy Diary: Week 13

Well this week I was back doing the job I love. I was working with 3 different families and then on Sunday I spoke at the Baby Wearing Ireland, Wear a Hug Fair. It was a great day and I was honoured to speak as part of their expert panel. There were lots of people to catch up with too. Over all it was a fantastic day full of chatting with new or expecting parents and catching up with old friends. 

With the other women on the expert panel at the Wear A Fair - BabyWearing Consultant Olwen Row from Born To Be Carried and Lactation Consultant Mairead Murphy from Better Breastfeeding. It was so lovely to catch up with them. 

I have been feeling pretty rough this week. My sickness seems to be getting worse again. Perhaps it is the shock of being back at work (LOL!).  I am lucky to have many friends in the maternity field so I made a few calls and spoke with some HCPs about the sickness. One new drug that seems to be up and coming in Cariban. It is for severe morning/all day sickness and has been used in Australia and USA for many years. It is still new here so I plan to speak with the hospital staff next week at my booking appointment. 

I have taken to driving with a big plastic bowl beside me in the car. I have had a few hairy moments where I could feel I was about to get sick but was in 3 lane traffic with no where to pull in – so the bowl has saved me a few times! 

On Friday I nearly rang my husband to collect me  when I was half way home as I wasn’t sure I could drive any more. After 20 minutes of driving I had stopped 4 times to get sick. I managed to pull myself together and get home. I literally crawled into bed and conked out for 2 hours!

I have decided to pull back a bit on my work load. I absolutely love what I do and I am so lucky to have amazing clients who make me excited to go to work every day. However, I spend my working day minding everyone else and ensuring they are ok. It is time I do the same for myself and baba. So next week I will be working my last night shift for probably a year or two! I can’t believe it. It does seem surreal. 

I managed this week to pop all my pre-pregnancy clothes into black bags and up into the attic. I am firmly out of them now. I am in leggings next size up and some baggy tops from Pennys. I also have a few items I bought that are maternity. To my frustration Paul couldn’t find my bag of maternity clothes from Seth & Leon so I may have to buy some more as I go along. 

Anyway....Until next time... Jen x

Week 13: What Is Happening To Your Baby: 

Photo by Ernest Porzi on Unsplash

• Your baby is the size of a lemon
• They may be able to suck their thumb from this week
• Tiny fingerprints are forming on your baby's fingers
• The part of your baby's brain responsible for solving problems and memory is starting to form this week 
• If you are having a boy his testicles are now formed and his penis is growing
• If you are having a girl, her ovaries are now developed (and contain all her millions of eggs). 

 

 

 

 

Week 13: What Might Be Happening With Your Body:

• Woo hoo!!! You have made it through the first trimester.
• You may be noticing an increase in vaginal discharge which will increase throughout your pregnancy due to the increase in the levels of oestrogen in the body. It is there to protect your birth canal from infection. 
• Your clothes will be definitely getting too tight now. 
• You might find your energy levels and appetite increasing.
• You might find your sex drive increased. 

Pregnancy Tip: 

You may still be suffering from nausea and vomiting at this stage of your pregnancy. It may just be lingering for a bit longer than the first trimester. For some women it can last a few weeks into the second trimester. There is a chance, however - especially if the nausea and vomiting are still very severe at this point - that you may have a condition called hyperememsis. This is a complication of pregnancy that involves severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss and dehydration. If you suspect you might have this,  it can help to talk to others for support. There is a fantastic group on Facebook here. If you think you may be vomiting excessively do talk to your GP and Healthcare Provider and see if they can provide anything to help. 

Jen's Pregnancy Diary: Week 12

What a magical week this has been. We went on our trip to Zakynthos and it was wonderful. The weather was mixed and it was a little colder than we hoped but it was lovely to be together as a family and not have to worry about work or normal day to day things. 

Unwinding in Greece

We stayed at Alykanas Village Hotel and it was a real family resort. We went all inclusive and we were spoiled with choice at each meal. Unfortunately my sickness is still pretty bad so I could not enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I did eat little bits of the yummy things (putting a spoonful of each dish on my plate to do a taste test and see what one my body would allow) There was lots of running to throw up but it was great to relax. 

The apartments were a perfect family destination. There were several pools. One dedicated mini water park with slides and a ship to play on. Super child friendly. They had a kids club running events. The all inclusive meant the kids could potter over and grab a drink or ice cream whenever they wanted. We could also walk straight from the snack bar down onto the beach. On our strip of beach there were lots of water activities. Paul and Seth enjoyed jet skies and we all took out a 4 person pedal boat. The weather wasn't great this week so the pools were cold but if you travelled earlier in the year I am sure it would be a big hit with kids and adults of all ages.

Seth got stuck into the Greek food but Leon basically survived the week on chips, cucumber, bananas and ice cream (even though there were many options – he insisted they didn’t taste like normal food!!!! Kids!) 

Both boys enjoyed meeting lots of local animals, including one really friendly cat who had two tiny kittens. The animals were well fed this week anyway!  They also found frogs, lizards, dogs and enjoyed some pony riding. 

The big news of the week was Leon learning to swim. He is chuffed with himself! And of course we are super proud. 

Seth and Leon relaxing in Greece 

I spent a large part of the week curled up reading. I haven’t read a book for pleasure in a long time. My Map of You by Isabelle Broom was candy floss for the brain, just a nice light book. Not like my usual ones for courses or work. Nice romantic story with a few twists. Few passionate moments to spice things up too! The author described the island perfectly and you could experience a little holiday from home when reading. 

When we returned the kids of course told everyone their highlights.... finding a frog on the beach, the Greek dancing night, the cats....and...oh yes and Mam having to jump out of a taxi and spew all over the place LOL They were suitably impressed with the viscosity it came and the gross factor had them chatting about it for days. Thanks lads!

I’m still in that - she could be pregnant or maybe she’s just fat stage - so I’m not sure what people thought of my in my swim suit but sure what can you do!  

We will all be hitting the ground running now that we are back. It’s amazing how fast the week goes. 

Until next time....Jen x

Week 12: What is Happening to Baby this Week: 

© 2009 Tony Hisgett, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

• Your baby is the size of a plum this week
• They have doubled in size over the last few weeks
• Baby's bone marrow is making white blood cells
• Your baby's digestive tract is starting to practise and is doing contraction movements of the muscles (these are the muscles that will push food through the digestive track when baby is born).
• Your baby can suck on their thumb now and scratch their nose
• From now until 18 weeks is an important time in your baby's brain development 
• You should be able to hear your baby's heartbeat at an ultrasound appt this week. 

Week 12: What Might be Happening to Your Body

• You are usually starting to feel better by week 12 - your energy levels may be increasing again and that fatigue and exhaustion is diminishing. 
• Many women start to relax into their pregnancy by this week as they pass through the first trimester
• Some women may notice changes to their facial skin - with patches of pigmentation on their cheeks, nose or forehead. It is not dangerous and nothing to be worried about. To lessen the changes use a good sunblock regularly as it's more likely to happen to women who are exposed to a lot of sunlight. 

Week 12: Pregnancy Tip 

Now that your energy levels are beginning to improve and hopefully any nausea is clearing up, you may want to get back to exercising again (if you had to put it on hold). Staying active is important throughout your pregnancy and exercise is recommended for most women.  If you have any doubts do check with your GP but in general exercise such as swimming, Pilates, Yoga or walking are encouraged for healthy low risk women throughout their pregnancy. Don't overdo it though, and make sure to drink lots of water and listen to your body as you get back to activity. 

Jen's Pregnancy Diary: Week 10

This week was full of excitement. We told Seth and Leon they were going to have a new baby brother or sister. They were both very shocked but happy. We chatted over dinner and they had lots of questions. Leon didn’t believe I had a baby in my belly because I don’t have a big pregnant belly. We showed him a picture of what the baby would look like and that it is still tiny. It was a great conversation over dinner. Seth wants a little brother and Leon doesn’t really mind. 

We told our families this week about our pregnancy - it was very exciting.

The next day we held a family party in our home for Bren my father in law. We exchanged presents and just before we sat down to eat we handed him a birthday card and told him there was a special surprise inside. Seth took a little video of the moment he found out he had another grandchild on the way! I found myself crying. It was a lovely moment :)

I have still been very nauseous and getting sick daily. I am excited to tell people and for the kids to know. Even though I am really tired at night I am finding myself unable to sleep. I have also started having crazy pregnant dreams.

I am starting to be uncomfortable in anything other than leggings. I did some online shopping and will need to get the hubby up into the attic to retrieve my bag of maternity clothes! There are some really lovely options out there now. I also just heard that Pennys now stock maternity wear so I will have to check that out soon! 

Until next time...Jen x

Week 10: What is Happening With Your Baby

© 2012 Fried Dough, Flickr | PD-MK | via Wylio

• Your baby is the size of a strawberry 
• They are becoming really active in your womb - kicking, tumbling and stretching. You won't feel this yet as their limbs are still so tiny. 
• Your baby's heart is now fully developed and beating at approx 180 beats per minute. 
• Your baby is starting to look more like a human this week, though as their is brain is developing their forehead will temporarily bulge at this point
• Your baby can now lift their chin up from their chest - so their head is more upright. 

Week 10: What Might Be Happening With Your Body 

• Your blood volume is increasing significantly this week. By the time baby is ready to be born it will be almost double the amount it would have been before you were pregnant. 
• You may be feeling dizzy at times as the pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes the walls of your blood vessels. 
• You may find you are suffering from constipation as the muscles of the bowel relax
• Your waist continues to expand and may be disappearing at this stage. 

Pregnancy Tip 

It's a good time to start thinking of how to break the news to your friends/family/work? Some people like to do a pregnancy announcement on social media and there are some great examples here and here on how people announced their pregnancy. Do let us know how you told everyone - we would love to hear from you: info@doulacare.ie or message us on Facebook