This week (week 7) I haven’t been feeling frustrated about the exercise limitations as I’ve too busy napping! I’ve been so tired… I’d heard it’s very common in the first trimester, but the reality of it still surprised me! And the napping doesn’t even seem to help and I’ve been feeling pretty lethargic.
And, oh yes, the nausea has finally kicked in – ugh! No full on morning sickness however, of which I’m grateful. But I’ve had to give up on my ideas of what I should be eating and rather eat anything I can to keep up my already low energy levels, never mind how healthy/unhealthy it might be. For example, just the thought of porridge or eggs makes my stomach turn in the morning, so I stick with stuff that’s either dry or super fresh (sounds a bit weird, I know). For example a rice cake with a slice of cheese and fresh cucumber is great in the mornings! Carbs generally seem to work (bring on the toast!). Not forgetting grape fruit juice to which I’m pretty much addicted by now.
But it’s all worth it because at 6 weeks 4 days we saw our baby on ultrasound scan!!
(Side note: Let’s call it a baby, I can’t bring myself to say “foetus” or “pregnancy” although I suppose it isn’t technically speaking a baby yet).
We went to the UCLH for what I thought was going to be my first midwife appointment. I’d only received a text message (no letter) with the time and location and since I’d been just recently referred to a midwife by my GP, I thought that was it. Well, it turned out that this appointment was with a gynaecologist to whom I’d been referred by my previous GP weeks and weeks ago, when I went to check if everything is ok (regarding the spotting etc.).
Long story short, she was nice enough to do an early scan since we were there. How we both managed to get out of work in the middle of the day to travel across the city is another story, so I was very happy it wasn’t for nothing… And indeed it wasn’t because what we saw just melted my heart!
Obviously all we could see at this point was a little bean with a heart beating at a crazy speed but that was enough to make me teary (again)! There really is someone there…
The size of the baby matched the weeks and everything looked fine as far as the doctor could tell. What a relief! Now fingers crossed that she or he continues to grow and develop and we’ll see something a bit more humanlike by the time of the official ultrasound scan at 12 weeks (30th May).
I felt so happy and proud looking at the baby’s daddy whose eyes were fixed on the screen – We created that little thing!
In my view he could have skipped the questions about the ultra sound scanning machine’s manufacturer as it wasn’t completely relevant but men will be men ha ha ha! At least he’s interested and came with me.
I don’t have a scan picture to share (we’ll get one from the official scan) but on the right you’ll see a screen shot from the Bump app, which has this great 3D “inside the bump” feature.
A few days later we went to see the midwife for about an hour’s appointment (I was 7 weeks at that point). She was a nice girl and the visit was informative although it felt a little bit like a tick the box exercise with her hastily running through the topics, but I guess it’s all part of the process. But how exciting was it to get my very ever first pack of maternity notes – YAY!
I had to pee in a cup again (this seems to be a reoccurring theme at every appointment!), and she measured my height and weight (I’d grown an inch taller and gained 4 pounds which both sound a bit unlikely), and I had blood tests done. Everything was normal 🙂
On the way home we had a quick lunch and went to see another house for sale and by the time I got home I was exhausted! And had a three-hour nap. As you do.
In the evening we went to a friend’s 30th birthday party which was great fun, taking place at a secret venue in 1920’s style. Live music and dancing! I still giggle remembering my partner’s concerned comment “Don’t shake it!” as I was swirling away on the dance floor.
Needless to say Sunday did not go nap-free either! (Despite me being in bed by 1pm which is still reasonable).
I know I’m not “supposed to” show yet, but if not, I’m definitely bloated 24/7 so badly that it looks suspicious. Can anteverted uterus make you show earlier? In any case, I need to get some leggings and long shirts ASAP! My fitted, smart work dresses are starting to feel…errr…restrictive.
xoxoxo,
Sini