A Christmas Baby Announcement

Those of you who follow ‘Confessions of a Slummy Mummy’ on Facebook will know that we recently announced our fourth pregnancy.

If you haven’t had a chance you can view the live video here do check it out and say hi.

Being pregnant at Christmas has come with its own trials, not only am I exhausted, but I have a perpetual feeling of sickness pretty much 24/7.

I have this strange feeling of being drunk or hungover despite zero alcohol over the festive period… It has put a bit of a downer on my mood. Still, the second trimester is on the horizon and I’m looking forward to feeling a bit more normal (please for the love of God).

We had a scare quite early on with severe cramping, I can only liken it to labour pains…. Bloody scary and I was certain things weren’t right and headed to the hospital a month ago…. an early ultrasound revealed a bleed in the uterus twice the size of the baby sack… It was quite horrible to see it on the screen…. But I can’t fault the care of the early pregnancy and women health unit at our local hospital though, they were so lovely and really took the time to explain their concerns and answer my questions. I had to have blood tests every couple of days for a week, this was to check my hgc levels were increasing as they should be. I have very small veins which like to hide….so my arms pretty much looked like a horror movie by the end of the week…. Not one nurse was able to draw blood so doctors were called on to stick me anywhere that would yield results…. While the boys danced around my feet with food, books or any tool of distraction I could find! They were superstars!!…. The main concern, I was told, was that, my womb was trying to expel this bleed and, with baby still being so small there was a risk he/she would come out also. But, thank goodness another scan revealed not only had the blood been absorbed, a little flicker of a heartbeat was detected.

I’ve never been concerned in my previous pregnancies but there is a strong sense of anxiety this time and I’m not sure why. Having been blessed with three uncomplicated(ish) pregnancies there is an element of ‘are we tempting fate’ a few people have said this to me and it’s not something I had even considered but now it’s playing on my mind. It’s been nearly 11 years since I had my first baby and it stands to reason that my body may struggle more this time around. I know I need to take extra care of myself. With Ernie still feeding 6ish times a day my body is supporting two growing children and it’s important I treat it with kindness.

I also developed early signs of preeclampsia at around 38 weeks with Nerg so I’m conscious my risks are increased this time around.

It’s so true that every pregnancy is different though and while this is tougher than I remember previously, it really is swings and round-abouts as far as symptoms are concerned.

What doesn’t help, is that until the final 5 weeks, my last pregnancy was a dream. This time I spend at least an hour a day on the loo, holding a bowl…. just incase I vomit so powerfully that I lose control of my bladder. Isn’t pregnancy beautiful?! Having lived on coffee for the best part of five years my body is struggling with deprivation….. the very thought of a cupa turns my already tentative stomach and, I’m getting the most herendous withdrawal headaches. In fact my Xmas eve post was filmed between migraines. Dont even get me started on the hormones, I haven’t stopped crying for 8 weeks…. in fact the constant irrational and sometimes hilarious tears were my first sign I might be expecting. Luckily Scott is being so supportive. There’s so much pressure on dads-to-be to shut up and put up when their partner is a hormonal banshee and I’m doing my upmost to not concoon myself in this first trimester. He’s had to take on a fair amount over xmas and Im feeling grateful…. except when he snores, or sneezes….. then I wish I could smother him…..

9 Responses to “A Christmas Baby Announcement”

Leave a Reply

Instagram Feed

Splash Image Footstapes Image