Week 23 Pregnancy Update - What a Whirlwind

 So a lot has been going on this past few weeks not just with baby but in life in general, like Ollie starting school, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, which is why I haven’t been able to get on and do my updates.

In regards to baby, I had my glucose test this fortnight. I was so sick after that liquid. But I haven’t heard anything from the midwives yet so I’m taking that as no news is good news. It was the first time that I had all three blood samples taken from the same vein too. Usually it one arm then the other and back over but this pathology lady was really good. 

I also had my 20 week scan. Which was really exciting. The lady said that she was amazed however that baby did not stop moving the entire scan and never moved into the position that she wanted it too…. Great a sign of things to come….. baby’s head was also wedged right down in my pelvis. I even got up and did star jumps and everything to try and get it to move its position but it didn’t move up enough. 

I have been feeling lots of movement and can even see the movement on the outside now. I am struggling to sleep at night because of the mixture of movement and heartburn. Everything is getting very uncomfortable to do already, reaching the floor is proving to be a challenge. I am always feeling thirsty and keep getting headaches behind my left eye which I am assuming is because I am dehydrated. My face has broken out in so many pimples, but I can’t tell if that is hormones or just the face that I have to wear a mask all day. And my skin has been itching like crazy, especially my belly (because of the skin stretching), but also my neck and the top of my chest. I have been getting a lot of skin tags on my neck which are annoying me and I find myself picking at them although I know I shouldn’t be. But most of all I am really struggling with exhaustion and tiredness. Working a 41 hour week and using my half and hour lunch break to pick up the kids from school, then getting home to cook dinner and put kids to bed, doesn’t leave me with much energy at the end of the day. I end up going to be pretty early every night but not getting the sleep I would like and feeling tired in the mornings. I think I am going to talk to my midwife next week to see what I can be doing for more energy, maybe more iron or something?

Baby is the size of a large mango this week and measures about 30cm from head to heels. It is pretty much fully formed now and is just growing now. It can hear what is going on outside (which at the moment is a lot of sibling whining and whinging) and can feel when I sway it. It’s pretty exciting how big it’s getting. 

I find out about whether or not I have gestational diabetes this week, so fingers crossed there…. I’ll try to keep you updated more regularly from here on and try not to complain as much as I have in this blog, it’s just been a tough few weeks. Thanks for listening and I’ll leave you now with a bump pic…. I’m looking as huge as I feel….

Week 20 Pregancy Update - Halfway There

 Wow half way is finally here. One one hand it feels like it’s taken forever and on the other it feels like it has gone really fast and I can’t believe we are on the down hill stretch now. 

I had a midwife appointment this week and was told that I need to have a glucose test asap and another later in the pregnancy, because I had gestation diabetes with Ollie. So I am trying to book myself in next week. I have also got scans booked in for an anatomy scan, which I am really excited about. The Midwife sized baby up and said everything was normal and that baby had a good strong heart beat. I also mentioned how I’m getting really tight around the lower abdomen and she said it was probably just my ligaments still stretching and that I should use a belly band if it causes too much discomfort. 

Josh felt baby on the outside yesterday, which was exciting. It’s nice to be able to finally share it with someone else. 

Baby is the size of a grapefruit this week. Which sounds huge but in all honesty I don’t buy grapefruits whole very often so I’m not really sure of the size ha ha. I am feeling really out of breath even doing the smallest things. If I’m sitting and am slightly laying on my back or slouching too much, I get out of breath too. I made the mistake of going up a whole heap of stairs yesterday and today I am paying for it, my calves are so sore. 

Here is a bump picture to finish with please excuse the hair ha ha it’s been a lazy day here today….

18 Weeks Pregnancy Update - A Quiet One

 This has been quite a different week. Firstly, this week,  baby’s movement was almost non existent for a few days and it had me a little worried that something was wrong, but yesterday it came back with a vengeance. Also, I got quite sick. I had a super sore throat, which started Tuesday afternoon and continued on to me loosing my voice on Thursday morning through to Friday afternoon. Along with the sore throat my body was achey and I had a ripper headache. After three tests which all came back negative we ruled out Covid and decided it must be laryngitis as that is something I get frequently, and my voice is always the first to go. 

But enough about me, baby is the size of a capsicum this week apparently. I find these size comparisons so weird because a lot of the fruits and vegetables range in size anyway so it’s not really anything to go by. Baby’s basic organs are formed and it is just continuing to grow at this stage. As it’s bones harden it’s movement will become more noticeable. I can feel it on the inside but am still waiting for it to be noticeable on the outside enough to have the kids feel it. I cannot wait for that. According to wives tales, this baby is going to have lots of hair because I am getting wicked heartburn. And the burn of heartburn on the oesophagus paired with a sore throat is quite the frustrating ordeal.  

The kids are also testing my patience this week. Putting them to bed every night is just the biggest frustration, and it is stressing me out thinking about what it’s going to be like with a baby on top. But that is really it this week. As always I’ll finish up with a bump picture. Have a good week :-) 

17 Week Pregnancy Update - Here we go again

Can you believe it?? I can’t. I thought 2 kids was all I’d have because I’ve always been scared of being outnumbered or worried that I couldn’t divide my attention and love between so many kids…. But here we are…. Baby number 3 on the way!!!

It has been quite a different journey this time so far. Especially as we have two other kids over the age of 4 now and they are understanding and are excited about what is happening and are also managing to exhausting me at the same time. I am slightly worried about how this pregnancy will go, because I am the most unfit I have been at the beginning of this pregnancy, than I have been with my others. I’m just hoping my body is still up to it ha ha 

I found out at about 8 weeks or so when I went off coffee and just generally didn’t feel well. But I did multiple tests at home which all kept coming back negative and it wasn’t until I saw a doctor, that I got the positive test, which came as a bit of a shock to Josh and I, especially as we have a wedding booked for the end of this year and a baby has made us reassess and change how we approached things. 

I got really sick after finding out with constant nausea, which made work an interesting experience. I had to see a Doctor to get medicated it was that bad. I also had to see doctor because I had spotting quite early too. So just to make sure everything was ok I went and had an ultrasound (which sienna got to attend, which was pretty cool). But everything was ok.

I was booked in at the hospital and got a tour of the new maternity wing, which was super cool. This will be the first baby I’ve had at our local hospital, the other two I had at a hospital close to my parents, but this time since both kids will be in school it’ll just be easier to have baby closer to home. I got to hear baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler, which was awesome. I was also told that since I had gestational diabetes with Ollie (check out this previous blog My gestational diabetes diagnosis to hear all about it), I have to have my glucose test earlier. I’m really hoping I don’t get it this time because I love food too much and I had so much struggle with it last time. 

I am feeling huge. Well huger than I remember being with the other two. Baby is the size of a pomegranate this week but I already feel as if I am at least 27 weeks. My lower back is already starting to ache at the end of the day and I’m feeling lots of stretching happening in my lower abdomen. But I am reminding myself to enjoy this as it will be the last time that I grow a human. I am feeling movement inside, but not enough to be felt outside just yet. I am looking forward to sharing those moments with the kids. 

Sienna keeps talking about when baby gets here this, and when baby gets here that, and she has her heart set on getting a baby sister, but I have to keep reminding her that we aren’t finding out gender so she has to be happy either way, boy or girl, as long as it’s healthy. I think it’s a bit harder for Ollie to comprehend what is happening just yet, he is still quite rough with me and keeps asking me if I’m pretending ha ha. I don’t think he will mind what the gender is either way. 

And here it is my first bump pic for this pregnancy!! As you can see I am a lot bigger this time already, I think third time around my body just knows what to do :-) 

Clean House = Clean Mind

My house is by no means perfect. I’m fact, it is far from it. I always have a mess in my kitchen and my lounge room is always full of the kids toys, and unfortunately, having all that around constantly makes me feel stressed out. Looking around and seeing mess makes me feel like I’m failing as a house maker. Now, I know people always say that a real house looks like it’s lived in, but my house looks VERY lived in and no matter what I do I just can never seem to get it looking clean. With the amount of toys the kids have downstairs and all the pop culture stuff that Josh collects, my house always seems 'full'. I don’t mind full when I can see the floor. To me a freshly vacuumed floor makes all the difference. I don't know what it is about it, but it just makes me feel better to see those vaccuum lines across the floor because I know at least my floor is clean, and now with Ollie being so mobile that I definitely something I need.

Today I got outside and I vacuumed my car. For a long time my car had been bothering me as it had been accumulating clothes, toys and rubbish for quite a while now. Sienna is on holidays at Grandma and Granddads so her car seat is out and I need to turn Ollie’s seat to front face because his legs are just getting too long for the rear facing, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get in there and tidy it. After giving it a good vaccuum I felt so much better! Getting the motivation to get in there and actually do it can be a struggle but once it’s done... man it feels great!! (Now I just need to get the outside cleaned too.... baby steps ha ha).

So I challenge you all today to give your house or your car a quick vaccuum and see how a clean house can give you a clean mindset. Maybe if your feeling up to it move your furniture around too. After all they say a change is as good as a holiday.
I would love to be able to change my house around but I fear if I start moving stuff I won’t be able to find places for it all ha ha. Maybe I’ll save that for a day when I’m feeling strong enough to move furniture and I have some sort of idea on what I would like to do :-)
Leave me some comments below on how you keep your house or car tidy and how it makes you feel. I would love to hear from you =)

Journalling

There is this thing that I have wanted to do every year but have never got to it. People get a jar and write down all the good memories and things that happened throughout the year and store them in the jar, so that at the end of the year you can look back and remember what a good year it was.
I am doing something similar through these blogs. I am remembering the things that happen to me throughout the year that bring me joy or gratitude. And I also have this book that I keep on my bedside table called a "Mom’s One Line a Day - A Five Year Memory Book". Where everyday for 5 years you write down a good memory from each day. I was writing in it yesterday and I came across my memory from last this time last year. It said 'Watching Sienna take her first steps'. It blows my mind that my little princess has been walking for a year!

I find it fascinating to look back on things that happened on this exact day years ago. That new thing in Facebook that allows you to look back to what you posted on that day previously helps you to see how much you have grown and changed as a person from then to today.

I am so grateful that I have these memories stored to look back on. All the updates on how I was feeling throughout my pregnancy with Ollie to look back on. Remembering how we spent Sienna's first and second years of life. All the little things that we did that are special but I wouldn't remember if I hadn't them written down. And now I ask myself where the whole of last year went... I cannot believe that in about 12 weeks my baby boy will be one year old!! That just blows my mind! So I am trying everything I can to remember these times and to catch these memories of them at this age because they are just growing up way too fast!

Home Yoga Practise

Today I am starting a wonderful yoga journey called “True”.
At the beginning of every year the YouTube channel 'Yoga with Adriene' (I'll link below) does a 30 days of yoga series, and every year I have wanted to do it but have never made it all the way through (last year I was very pregnant so I couldn’t take part). But this year will be different! I am determined to see it all the way through.
Yoga makes me feel amazing!! And I am so grateful that there are things like this available on the internet to help me work towards my health goals at home. I don’t have to worry about finding a time to get down to the gym to do things like this because I can simply switch on the computer and do something active while the kids are asleep. And Adriene makes yoga so fun and doable. I know a lot of people look at yoga as a whole heap of poses that are impossible to get to let alone stay in. But with this particular channel you can do whatever level you feel you can do on that day (the theme of the channel is 'Find What Feels Good'). And everything is broken down and you work from your foundation up. The next day I may feel a little sore but it is amazing to watch and feel my ability and flexibility improve everyday.
Watching sienna join me sometimes, even though a lot of the movements are a bit tricky for her, but seeing her attempt things make me think that I am moulding her in the direction of a healthy lifestyle as well. I would really encourage you all to watch this into and give it a go yourself =)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I_Ec2FPOyY