I have been quiet on here for some time, because I’ve had a lot going on including being pregnant! I am in my last weeks of pregnancy now and it’s been a crazy journey.
I honestly didn’t think my body would even function enough to get pregnant, let alone get to the final weeks of pregnancy.
When I found out, the first couple of months before my first scan to check there definitely was a baby growing were scary and anxiety inducing. All my health anxiety came flooding back and I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case things didn’t turn out well.
Thankfully I had only a little nausea in the first trimester, cured by eating ridiculous amounts of beige food. It did lead to me putting on weight straight away but I thought if I can’t put on weight now, when can I?! It was the only thing that kept me going, distracted throgh food from my anxiety.
My husband has been my rock throughout, at first helping keep the secret while making sure I was ok, then looking after me as my body naturally got more uncomfortable thanks to a mix of pregnancy and chronic pain. He has even been putting my socks on for me for the past couple of months as I can no longer reach my feet! As well as keeping the house in order, working his own full time job and looking after our dog.
That first scan was an out of body experience. How has my body doen something it should for the first time ever? It really feels like a miracle every time I think about how amazing my body is creating a tiny human!
It hasn’t been easy though and it has led to some nasty chronic illness symptoms rearing their ugly head. In the 2nd trimester I struggled with pelvic girdle pain, day and night, mostly in my hips. I had to walk weirdly and it made my back hurt where I was putting extra pressure from my adjusted gait. Thankfully, in 3rd trimester it has eased in the day but at night I wake every 40 minutes in agony with the hip I am laying on and have time turn to the other side. I have struggled with having to lay on my side as someone who gets uncomfortable easily and needs to toss and turn at night. Hopefully the lack of sleep is helping prepare me for motherhood!
Speaking of lack of sleep, I did find a pregnancy pillow helped from early on, but weirdly I found my fatigue has been more tiredness from lack of sleep rather than the usual dull ache in my head I get with he chronic fatigue. Not to say I haven’t felt exhausted, but I haven’t had any crazy flare ups of fatigue majority of the time.
In 3rd trimester, the main struggle has been back pain. I am prone to my back completely going and being in agony when I am stressed, and there is nothing more stressful to a body than being pregnant! The extra weight and my posture amending itself to support this has caused 3 excruciating flare ups of lower back pain. Getting my TENS machine on it and standing and moving helped me get through each of these within a few days but they did make me wonder if I could so this.
I have found a pregnancy belt really helps support my back and now wear it every time I’m walking anywhere, even around the shop, just so my back stays in place and behaves. It has worked so far (hoping I don’t jinx it now!)!
My chronic pain has been weirdly ok, the only thing is baby kicking is probably more painful than to someone without chronic pain, but I am lost in amazement with each kick so that distracts me.
I got a birthing ball early on and that has helped keep my muscles and joints moving, especially as it is becoming uncomfortable to sit down even though my chronic health conditions mean I often need to sit and rest, so it gives me another option for sitting and doing some light exercises.
I recently took up yoga for pregnancy classes and they have been amazing. As someone who is the least flexible person ever (no exaggeration, if I try to touch my toes I get as far as my knees and my back looks like Quasimodo!), I have stayed clear of yoga all my life. One of the girls I met in antenatal classes attends one so I went and have really enjoyed it. It is such light and adapted exercise, mostly stretches and even a relaxation napping time at the end, it feels so relaxing and I feel a real difference after.
I am equally excited and terrified for the next step, the actual birth! However, if have had 3 weeks of annual leave from work before baby arrives so I have been able to rest more and prepare myself, listening to a hynobirthing audio book to get me in the right frame of mind and know I am in control every step of the way. I highly recommend and the hospital I am due to give birth at even has midwives trained in hynobirthing to make the experience as relaxing as possible.
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