Following on from last weeks post, to keep you up to date with where Gavin and I are in our pregnancy, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to talk about the second trimester and what we have been up to. I finished the previous post on when we had told all the family our big news. Since then the weeks seem to drag and pregnancy seems to be never ending. However, I cant complain to much as I haven’t been in any pain or discomfort during the second trimester.

Week thirteen was when I started to show, I didn’t look just fat anymore and I could pass as being pregnant (as peoples comments started). Gavin and I also started to think about what type of items we needed and we also looked at answering some of the big questions about how we wanted to raise our child. Such as weather to breastfeed or not, should we use disposable or reusable nappies and the ultimate question of “How are we going to afford everything”!

By week eighteen I was starting to feel more like myself again and had a lot more energy. That weekend, Gavin was getting ready to take his cows to a local show and of all the weeks for anything to happen, this wasn’t the week he wanted me to fall over. However I did (over the smallest of steps) and immediately started to feel sick, all this meant I became very over whelmed and very upset with my self which led to us going into hospital to get checked over. All was found to be OK and we even managed to get a tour around the maternity ward at our local hospital.

On the 30^th June 2016 we had our mid pregnancy check up and a further scan. At this scan you can find out the gender of your baby, however we both opted to keep it a surprise. I am going to use this as the encouragement to keep going whilst in labour, otherwise I think if I knew I might give up. My mother also came with us on this day and she was able to see the baby for the first time moving around and showing its fingers to the camera. The scan went fine and didn’t take a long time as the sonographer was able to get all the measurements they needed. This same week, I was invited to go to an initial meeting at the hospital where groups of parents got together to learn about the hospital and where everything was located etc.

I started to think about my fitness from this point on and looked at the options available to me. I must say there are very limited options in the area I live and because of this there are big waiting lists, however I found two classes that were of interest to me and I started going on a weekly basis from week twenty three.

Aqua-natal classes are every Monday and I enjoy these as it gets the heart pumping but doesn’t feel like your putting much effort in. I also have met a lot of mummy’s-to-be that are due around the same time so have been able to share ideas and get inspiration for items that we may need for the baby. The other class I go to is on a Wednesday evening and it is pilates for pregnant women. The class is very relaxing and helps mothers get ready for opening the pelvis and breathing techniques. I can definitely tell when I’ve been to this class, as the next day my body aches and is very sore.

On the 02^nd August 2016 I had a mid wife appointment where she listened to the baby’s heart beat and checked me over to make sure everything was OK. She refereed me to a blood pressure specialist as I have always had high blood pressure and she wanted to make sure that all was fine with me whilst going through pregnancy.

I had asked my mother to make some items for the nursery and when she came to visit us in week twenty six, she brought some of the items with her. She had made an alphabet plaque, made from letters and spray painted to create the effect of “I Love You”. She had also made the baby a huge tipi that we will use when the baby is a little bigger. Finally she made a mobile to go over the cot, using the colours of the nursery (grey and white) and hanging feathers from a main ring. I was very thankful as I like home made items and they are all beautiful and match the theme of the room perfectly.

Now we are in the final trimester all seems to be getting a little harder. I am getting to big to be able to pick items off the floor and feel uncomfortable all the time. However, nothing can beat the feeling of your baby kicking and moving inside, which “little alien” seems to have decided will be an hourly occurrence now. I also think the realisation seems to be setting in that both Gavin and I’s lives are about to change forever, however I’m holding onto the fact that I’m still pregnant and I want to stay that way just a little longer as, even though we both have our good and bad days, all in all we are both enjoying the process of creating a little human.

Much love
Rebecca