Finding out three days before a six-week adventure abroad that I was pregnant certainly threw a spanner in the works for our plans for the foreseeable future. Imagine the expression on my face when I stood in the shower one Saturday morning to see those two red lines. I’m still not quite sure I can articulate what I felt that morning but if I were to try then it was a healthy cocktail of disbelief, terror, excitement, anticipation and anxiety all served up in the same martini glass.
Truth is, I am probably the most unwomanly,woman you will ever meet. It was my partner who noticed my body changing and connected all my symptoms of fatigue, colossal appetite, surprise acne breakouts, swollen breasts (ok – I should’ve noticed this one) and mood swings to symptoms of pregnancy. So in the madness before we flew out for Europe I had various tests done and ultrasounds to determine that I was just short of six weeks pregnant.
I wondered as cold jelly was being liberally spread across my belly how I had fallen pregnant so easily when I had been diagnosed years ago with Polycystic ovaries and told that I would need some form of assistance falling pregnant. My best friend started treating me weekly in March for anxiety through acupuncture whilst also ‘replenishing my blood’ as she likes to call it. Little did I know that her magical needles of life would prove to be so effective.
I kept it a secret from my family because I didn’t want too many opinions on how I should manage the pregnancy. My logic was that many women miscarry even if they spent their entire first trimester in the lap of luxury and I wasn’t going to get my hopes up when I was about to embark on an intensive trip and wasn’t sure what would happen. Sure enough, I survived the six weeks abroad and what’s more incredible is that my baby did too. Don’t get me wrong, its not like I was traipsing around trashy Euro bars dancing on tabletops to Despacito but we all get stressed and exhausted so it was hard to judge whether or not I was being careful enough.
It all became so real when we saw the perfectly formed little being inside me kicking and punching up a storm. Up until the 12 week scan this ‘baby’ had a phantom like presence inside me – sucking the life out of me whilst making me devour anything I could get my hands on and all the while keeping everything inside me, inside me.
Now almost at my 20th week and finding out that we’ll be welcoming a baby boy into the family this is all suddenly becoming very real. Up until now my baby bump could’ve been mistaken for an overly large bowl of pasta for lunch but it’s now really becoming a reality where my pants (underwear included) no longer fit and my bladder is weaker than my grandmother’s.
I’m so excited to share with you my journey over the next few months including how to get through the pregnancy exhaustion, finding motivation and how to look after your body both physically and mentally during the term – so stay tuned!
