I'm grateful that I am able to be pregnant... But it's hard!!
I feel enormous, I have put on 2 stone and still have 18 weeks to go. Slightly terrifying. I used to be so active and slim.
I'm still suffering from morning sickness.
It took us 7 hours at the Birmingham baby show yesterday to choose a pram and already I'm thinking we've bought the wrong one. We didn't even look at anything except prams.
I have bought absolutely nothing else. Not even a cute baby outfit.
I'm so tired and yet everyone likes to point out that I'll be more tired when it's born ... Gee thanks just what I need to hear right now!
Anyone else finding pregnancy tough?
Well done to all expectant mothers... This is a tough thing to go through.
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CyclingBump
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My daughter is 6 weeks old now and I also have 2 year old son. I know it absolutely sucks putting on weight but unfortunately it’s a normal part of pregnancy. Putting on weight doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re gaining fat if that’s what you’re worried about, it’s also extra blood, extra mucus, the placenta, amniotic fluid, the weight of the baby etc. Gaining weight is a good sign that you’re having a healthy pregnancy. If you feel like you’re putting on more weight than you should be (depends on your pre pregnancy weight) then mention it to your midwife because it can sometimes be a sign of gestational diabetes. If you were quite slim it’s more likely that you’ll put on a little more weight in order to have a healthy pregnancy.
I suffered from HG from 5-13 weeks with my first and the entire pregnancy with my second. I chose not to as my sickness wasn’t effecting baby’s growth but mention it to your midwife and they can advise you on medication that you can take to help relive it. It doesn’t work for everyone but if your suffering it’s worth a go.
You have plenty of time for buying things so don’t stress about it. I started buying at 6 weeks with my first and 5 weeks with my second but not every body starts that early I know a lady who refused to buy anything before 36 weeks. Also you probably don’t need as much stuff as you might think you do. Half the stuff I bought with my first didn’t get used at all.
Personally I have much more energy now I’m not pregnant even with a 2 year old and an exclusively breast fed newborn! So you wont necessarily be more tired postpartum so don’t stress about it just yet.
I have been feeling everything you have just said, 100% in the same boat as you, super happy to be pregnant but finding it so hard, and also kind of fed up of every conversation being about babies. Which is hard to explain to people as I don’t want anyone thinking I have changed my mind or don’t want it as I do. I wouldn’t worry about having not bought much as I’m also going to the Birmingham baby show tomorrow and waited till this point to buy anything, was it good?
Sorry I’m not much help but honestly it must be normal to feel this way as I’m finding pregnancy super tough, physically and emotionally. Also I used to be slim and have piled on almost 2 stone already 😢
Aw good to know someone else is feeling the same 😁
The baby show was good in that we got to really try out the buggies. We must have put them up and down and changed seats etc. about eight times on each of the models on our short list.
It took us 7 hours and we did only look at buggies. Definitely make sure you have an idea of what you want before you go. I did loads of research online. We chose the oyster 3, but it was a close call with the cosatto wow.
There weren't any really good deals. You only save about 5% from online prices. So don't feel pressured to buy stuff there.
Good luck... Oh and eat regularly! I got very hungry walking around all day 😮
Like you, I was really active and fairly slim and now starting to feel whale like 🙈 just remember that this isn’t forever, our bodies are amazing in what they can do and as soon as our babies have been born we will start to feel ‘normal’ again. Will be a tough road getting back into shape but sacrificing our bodies to bring in our little miracles will be worth it!
Feel free to message if you want to talk about anything exercise related during or after pregnancy. I’m nearly 33 weeks, still spinning and now I’ve stopped work going to go to yoga during the day and walk more.
Enjoy the bump while you can! I’m sure you’ll miss it once the babies arrived xx
Ohh, I’m getting fed up of the ‘wait till baby’s born’ regarding the tired comments 🙄 pipe down! Haha.
I managed a 38 miles cycling yesterday. I'm the women's rep for the RCC cycling club. But I was on the tandem. So my other half was doing most of the hard work 😎
I'm off to work. Enjoy your day 👍
Hi there
I’m 30 weeks pregnant, very happy to be expecting (it took 3 years to conceive) but the pregnancy part has been far from easy and full of symptoms and sleepless nights...and still getting morning sickness too 🙄 I get the most delight from feeling baby move but pregnancy has definitely not been the glowing experience that i’d mistakenly believed it would be.
I’ve put on just over 2 stone. Rationally I’m fine with it because I know it’s needed for baby. But I’ve never been this weight before in my life and I can’t bear the lack of flexibility around my middle (my other half had to tie my shoe lace for me today 😂). Above all I SO miss being able to sleep on my front!
I’ve not bought a single thing for the baby yet. My other half is still scared of jinxing it and we’re part way through renovating our home so putting off buying things til we’re happy the last dusty bits have been completed. It started to hit me the other day that we probably need to get a wriggle on but it feels hard to think about when i’m still at work.
We’ve been on a baby first aid training, i’ve found a Doula and i’m signed up for various things I need to attend re breast feeding info etc
Maybe I should be more stressed about it all than I am but I know we’ll get done what we need to.
That’s where I’m at. You’re not alone. I hope that helps x
Congratulations on getting pregnant! That's fantastic after a long wait. But yes, doesn't make it easier.
I keep getting told that babies don't need a lot. Car seat, few clothes, nappies, and somewhere to sleep (drawer from a chest is where I was first sleeping!). So fingers crossed we'll be ok.
Definitely good to wait until the housework is done. We're doing some finishing touches too, but I absolutely refused to renovate the bathroom before the baby arrived... We don't have a separate toilet and it's just too much upheaval.
I hope you are not finding all the housework too much. My partner is having to do most of it alone. I'm either too tired or it isn't safe for a pregnant woman to do (fumes dust etc).
Good to hear from you. Fingers crossed for your last trimester 💝
Thank you! Same to you.
We’ve been renovating (at weekends) for the last few years. I’m usually very hands on and not being able to get involved has been very frustrating. My other half has been great, but is working himself into the ground to get as much done as possible and that’s possibly the hardest bit for me to see...I’ve felt so guilty.
I don’t blame you for not wanting to start work on the bathroom right now, that’d be far from ideal. Our little one won’t have a nursery to begin with (we’re in one bedroom, the 2nd is storage and the 3rd one is being worked on and should be finished by due date 🤞🏼), but as they’ll be in with us for the first 6 months I refuse to put unnecessary pressure on to have everything ‘perfect’. A happy home, love, warmth, food, some clothes and somewhere to sleep is all that’s needed 😉
Absolutely. We've only got two rooms, so we're not turning the spare one into a nursery until the baby is ready to move into it. That way we can (if we're up to it) have occasional visitors when the baby is born.
I hope you are having a lovely Sunday. Very good weather where we are today. 😎
Hi, I know exactly how you feel, I’m 27+3 and I’ve already put 2 stone on, just as well I started at 8st2lb. I’m absolutely knackered, to the point my whole body aches by 4pm.
I’m really struggling but this is my 8th baby, I’m 40 and still got 3 little ones at home. I get up at 4am each day to do 6 horses, and don’t get a chance to rest. I haven’t really bought anything, I got rid of everything because I wasn’t having anymore. Got so much to do and no energy.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, hopefully you’ll feel a bit more energetic when your nesting instinct kicks in.
Oh my goodness!! You sound like super woman. Such a shame you need to buy everything again... But I guess you'll know exactly what you need and want by now 👍
Lots of women don’t really like being pregnant it’s not really fun extra weight and stress on your body can’t eat certain things or drink alcohol vomiting sore boobs etc
With your first I think you over think you’ll need everything you can possibly buy. But really you don’t even need a cot straight away. So don’t worry plenty of time to shop.
Lol I’ve had my pram cot picked for ages but I’ve mc 3 times so aren’t even pregnant now grrr would be my 3rd but don’t have stuff from my 2 older kids.
Just so you know, I found pregnancy harder than having a newborn. I probably do have days where I’m more tired now but not day after day like in pregnancy. I had nausea until 23 weeks too, though I stopped vomiting at 21 weeks. I went for reflexology at 23 weeks and I think it helped (plus it was a gorgeous foot massage). You might want to take a gentle iron supplement- my midwife suggested this and I thought I didn’t need to because I was taking pregnacare max but then I ended up in iron tablets later in pregnancy so I wish I had listened to her. Lack of iron contributes to tiredness.
Your pram is almost certainly the right one for you, you will have made a thoughtful decision. Plus they’re all so good these days that it would be hard to be disappointed. If it doesn’t have a car seat with it then get that next, and your crib/Moses basket. Once you have those things you have most of what you need, and can start enjoying buying the other little bits. You will probably be surprised by how much people just give you if you’re willing to accept second hand.
Breastfeeding afterwards helps get the weight off quickly and naturally.
Your body is going through a huge change, it's not easy but it is normal. Try to enjoy the pregnancy, think about the positives rather than the negatives (you have chosen a pram & theres plenty of time for the rest) go swimming, talk to baby... mine have tended to have the same waking pattern after they were born.
P.S
Don't scream when you are giving birth, all the energy flows out, use it to bear down, get something to bite down on. Water births are good for lifting the pressure of bump & easing pain (I dont like pain relief it makes me feel dizzy and birthing has taken longer) We have 6 children.
I've heard good things about Hypno birthing where you 'breathe' the baby out. We're going to sign up to an NCT course to find out about birth options and breastfeeding. It'll be good to meet some people too.
I did an online hypnobirthing course alongside NCT and it was so helpful. And all the staff commented on how good my breathing was, and I didn’t make a sound throughout a long labour- didn’t need to with the breathing techniques.
Yes Mind over matter. Breathe through the contractions, walk about as much as possible, find the right birthing position for you. Birthing one of my sons, the top of the bed was tilted up with pillows & I was hugging that, again it seemed to take the pressure off my back & was a nice position for hubby to hold hand etc.
My children are 22, 19, 18, 14, 4 & 2. I thought our family was complete after we had our 14yo! 🤣
Breastfeeding was a lot easier with the last 2, I was never asked to go to a toilet to feed!
It's always good to meet other parents and share experiences. Baby massage and swim classes are great for meeting new people too.
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