11 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Good morning! 

This post should be called the 11/12 Weeks Pregnant Update as according to the hospital and the baby's measurements I'm over 12 weeks pregnant today. Very confusing.

Anyway, this week I've been keeping a nausea diary. I'm hoping that as the placenta kicks in (some time around 9-12 weeks?) the sickness will eventually go. It has been a lot better over the past two weeks or so but is definitely still there.

Here's what I've been experiencing over the past 7 days:

10 = At its worst for this pregnancy. 

1 = Barely there for this pregnancy.

* Please note: I've not actually been sick at any point. *

Tues 13th March 2018

- No nausea until 1.30pm. Then again at 5pm.

Wed 14th March 2018

- As above.

Thurs 15th March 2018

- No nausea until 4.30pm. 2/10. It went on all night until 5am. Luckily I woke up fine! 

Fri 16th March 2018

- The nausea started at 3pm. 1/10. It went on all night until I slept it off at 10pm.

Sat 17th March 2018

- Nausea from 3.30 - 6.30pm (I ate a bag of salt & vinegar Hula Hoops and they worked!). 

Sun 18th March 2018

- The nausea started at 3.30pm. 1/10. It went on all night and I had the worst night's sleep ever!

Mon 19th March 2018

- Nausea from 3.30pm. Again, it went on all night and I've had another bad night's sleep!

As you can see, although the nausea has eased up loads I'm still getting it every day. I'm quite thankful that it's no longer on a level of 10 though as that was so incapacitating.

Over the past week other symptoms have included:

Metallic taste in my mouth.

Tiredness - not as bad as it's been though. I'm no longer kipping in the day.

Waking up frequently during the night. 

Feeling thirsty.

Mild period pains - less frequently though.

Constipation.

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach.

Sore boobs. (Mainly on the sides).

Feeling too hot, then too cold.

Heightened sense of smell when I feel nauseous. 

A blocked nose at night.

Pinching/stretching/pulsing on my left side.

Ligament pain.

We have our booking appointment tomorrow and our 12 week scan on Monday so roll on then! 

It's a scary thought as I'm always worried our baby has died. Unfortunately it's just part and parcel of how you feel after having awful miscarriages. That said, if you asked me to put money on it I would say the baby is fine. Purely based on how I've been feeling physically. So that's got to be a good sign.

Jess. xx

HOW TO COMBAT MORNING SICKNESS

Nausea. It's like the bane of my life at the mo. I have no idea why they call it morning sickness as it seems to hit me day and night. I can't wait until this eases up and I can feel like myself again. In the meantime there's a few things I have found that help:

Lying down and keeping really still - yep, if it gets really bad I have to lay in my bed!

Getting lots of sleep - I've noticed that my nausea improves tenfold if I sleep loads.

Eating cold meals or getting someone else to cook - I can't stand the smell of cooking right now (more so in the eve).

Have my main meal in the afternoon - the poor baby still needs to be fed and my nausea isn't usually as bad at lunch time.

Consume lots of carbs - think wholemeal bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.

Fizzy drinks - soda water, coca-cola, Appletiser and Rio. They all do it for me.

Ice lollies - I can't get enough of them at the mo. I don't know why but they really do work. 

Sea Bands (I have these here) - admittedly I've not used them for a few weeks but they seem to work when I do.

Boiled sweets - humbugs are my thing at the mo. They're lovely and minty fresh.

Ginger - biscuits, tea, cold drinks etc. I'm sick of ginger right now but it worked for me in the beginning. I have found Nairn's Ginger Oat Biscuits to be particularly good.

One of the main things I find gross is the metallic taste I have in my mouth. That's where the ice lollies, humbugs and often fizzy drinks come in! As well as helping with the nausea they help to combat the yucky taste.

How do you combat morning sickness? 

Let me know in the comments box below!

Jess. xx

10 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Hey guys! 

It seems like ages since I last updated this blog and so much has happened too! 

First thing's first - following on from my last post, the 'hook effect' is a real thing and that's exactly what was happening to me. Apparently pregnancy tests are only designed to pick up levels of hcg up to a certain point. Once your body reaches that point they are too high to register, hence why I started getting weak lines on my pregnancy tests. By diluting my urine (25% urine: 75% water) I was able to get nice strong lines once again. 

Regarding our disappearing twin, we've had 2 more scans since my last update (4 now altogether) and twin 2 was never seen again. Very sad, but if it had to die, doing so in the first trimester was the best case scenario. This is because the fetal tissue has now been absorbed by me, the placenta or the other twin. Hence the name 'vanishing twin syndrome'. It's horrible but we've had time to accept it now. I just keep imagining the day I tell my little one that they were an identical twin. : ( I don't even know if we will tell them or not. 

Talking of twin 1 - it's doing really well. In fact, it's doing so well that I'm actually 11 weeks pregnant according to my scans (not 10). We've been so lucky to be monitored by the Early Pregnancy Unit and at every scan our little one always measures just over a week ahead. It's currently the size of a lime!

Over the past 3 weeks my symptoms have been:

Metallic taste in my mouth.

Extreme tiredness - I feel like I could sleep forever!

Waking up frequently during the night. 

Night sweats (gross!).

Feeling very thirsty.

Mild period pains.

Constipation.

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach.

Sore boobs. (Mainly on the sides).

Feeling too hot, then too cold.

Nausea, which seems to be easing up a bit since last Sat. That said, I still feel it every day at about 5/5.30pm. At this point I cannot stand the smell of food cooking! Often I get it around 1pm too.

Heightened sense of smell when I feel nauseous. 

A weird heavy feeling in my crotch area (like my insides are falling out!). The EPU consultant thinks it might actually be my bowel. 

I've now stopped taking the Pregnacare Original tablets and went back onto Pregnacare Pre-conception for a bit. After still suffering with stomach pains and diarrhea I've finally started taking a Boots Folic Acid and Vitamin D tablet. These seem to be much better.

Next up - we have our NHS booking appointment in a week, our NHS 12 week scan in just under 2 weeks and we've booked in for a private NIPT + Scan in just over two weeks (when I'll be 12/13 weeks). This is £399.00 and includes the Harmony prenatal blood test (NIPT), a 2D ultrasound scan (inc prints), sexing (yes we are going to find out the sex!) and a 4DFREEVIEW with 3D ultrasound prints. How exciting!

Jess. xx