Wednesday 24 July 2019

Third and Final Trimester


And just like that my Second pregnancy is ending...

Hello lovely readers! As I am writing this I am rocking back and forth on a birthing ball trying to get this baby out; that's right I have hit that point of pregnancy where you try all the spicy curries and get as much walking in as you can because the baby has been given their eviction notice. I am kidding of course (well sort of I am eating spicy curries but that's besides the point haha), baby can come when he or she is ready but yeah I am 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant so could be any day now- please let it be any day now! 

But before I pop my second child out I would like to update you all on the final part of my second pregnancy journey and thank you all for following along. Last time you read about my pregnancy I was finishing off my second trimester and now here I am almost finished with the whole process of creating a baby and about to embark on the next chapter of my life as a Mother of two! I am excited and nervous at the same time! 

Entering the 3rd Trimester (Weeks 28 and 29)...

28 weeks pregnant 









Week 28 of this pregnancy is where I left off in the second trimester blog post and is (if I am correct) the first week of the third trimester so let's start there. 
At 28 weeks I was so happy to be in the final trimester, I have really tried to enjoy this pregnancy and not rush it as Reece and I are pretty confident this will be our last child but not going to lie, this pregnancy has been a lot tougher than Ella-Grace's so entering the third and final trimester was a very happy moment. I also try to stay grateful to the fact that I am still pregnant this far a long as I know many women sadly do not which can have devastating outcomes so I know this is a blessing. 

At 28 weeks I had an appointment with my midwife. This appointment was fairly straight-forward. It was at this appointment I received my first anti-D injection, I also had these through out my pregnancy with Ella-Grace. For those who do not know I receive these injections due to my blood type being negative and during pregnancy there is a risk of baby and Mother's blood mixing. If baby blood is positive and mixes with my negative blood there can be negative consequences, so the medication in the injection stops this from happening. They sting quite bad and I always dread getting them (them and any other needles) but not so bad in the grand scheme of things. 

And with that there is not much else to say about week 28, short and sweet. 

At 29 weeks pregnant, everything was going well! Truthfully this week was occupied by a certain little girl turning 2 years old!! We were all on a high and Reece had a week off work, this was probably one of my favourite weeks of pregnancy.. just before things got tough, 


29 weeks pregnant 

Anxiety strikes at 30 weeks...

30 weeks pregnant 

30 weeks down and now only (in theory) 10 weeks to go!! 
Everything was so exciting as we really started to get into the countdown to baby 2's arrival; we were getting everything ready and things were good... then why did I feel so anxious? 
All my life I suffered from anxiety, being diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder when I was 20 years old, I have been through some really bad times! But over the years I have worked hard to find healthy ways to cope with my anxiety and fight my demons but that does not mean they do not show up now and again especially when pregnant hormones are at play. I was suddenly waking up every day with a tight feeling in my chest, as if something terrible could happen at any moment. I would get incredibly stressed when Reece would go to work, I was nervous to take Ella-Grace out, I was feeling down about my appearence, I started to worry I would not connect with the baby and feel guilty about feeling any of this because so many people have it worse. I was so grateful to be pregnant and wanted to enjoy it but my anxiety was making me feel like it was the end of the world! With the help of my sweet daughter, loving husband and using the healthy coping mechanisms I had learned over the years since my bad mental health patch, I pulled through. 

Something positive that did happen during week 30 though that took my mind off my anxiety was Mothers Day. Reece was working on the day of so instead I spent it with my own Mother which in itself was very special and Reece's next day off he took Ella-Grace and I out for a meal. Lovely memories that will last a long time. My next Mothers day I will have two babies and even more to be thankful for. 
Mothers Day



Weeks 31 and 32...

Anxiety still very much there but getting through it. At this point I am conflicted in what I want/need to do; on one hand I want to stay in bed all day and relax especially because I am getting to the point in pregnancy where I am uncomfortable and sore but at the same time I am definitely in the nesting period and feeling the need to clean my entire house 500 times as well as obviously needing to look after Ella-Grace and make the most of  this time where she is still an only child. I have to take one day as it comes, some days I may be staying in bed or chilling on the sofa and other days I will be a super pregnant mum, managing to clean and take Ella-Grace out. The days staying in increased the more pregnant I became especially in the upcoming weeks. 

S*** gets real (33-35 weeks)... 

33 weeks pregnant 
Three words: PELVIC GRIDDLE PAIN!! 
Thank goodness I did not experience this in Ella-Grace's pregnancy, it is so painful and makes it difficult to stand, walk, or do anything really. I would be trying to cook supper or walk to the park with Ella-Grace and I would get a crippling pain in my pelvic area and have no choice but to sink to the ground! It started about 33 weeks pregnant and continued to get worse from that point.   This pain did not only cause me physical pain but emotionally it made me upset as I felt as if I could not look after Ella-Grace properly and it made me so sad when she would see me collapse to the ground and ask me "Are you okay Mummy?" My two year old shouldn't be worrying about me bless her. I felt like a terrible Mother, skipping her groups because I could not walk to take her there and not being able to run around with her. Of course I know this is untrue but the mum guilt always creeps in no matter how much you try to keep it out, no matter how irrational (my fellow mothers will know what I mean). This was by far the worst pregnancy symptom I experienced in my second pregnancy.

As well as this pain, other symptoms I was experiencing included nausea, sickness, diarrhea, back pain, migraines and painful baby kicks. All this would then keep me up at night leading to sleep deprivation. 

The last 4 weeks, the toughest yet...

36 weeks pregnant 

37 week scan 

38 weeks pregnant 

Just when you think you cannot get any bigger- you do, just when you think you could not possibly be in anymore pain- more pain hits and the closer you get to the end of the pregnancy the slower the days get! Do not get me wrong I know that being pregnant is a blessing and many people struggle to get conceive/carry, I am very thankful and would not change it for the world but that does not mean that there are no hardships through pregnancy. I think that is what makes the end result so amazing; just what your body goes through as a women to create a life is miraculous.. as well as uncomfortable and painful. The pelvic gridle pain at this point is what is worst and I have been offered crutches by the midwife but crutches with a toddler? Yeah I don't think that is going to work. WIth the help of Reece and crawling around my house instead of walking when the pain gets too much I am sure I can make it to when baby wants to arrive- sounds like I am being over dramatic but literally I spend so much of the time on the floor it is unreal. I have fell down in public due to these pains. BUT I can do this one. last. time. 

These last few weeks everything is just getting more and more intense and all the negative symptoms have peaked. My patience is also wearing thin and I am getting nervous that I may have to be induced which I really do not want as you will see in the birth plan. I am not going to lie there have been many tears.

On a happier note however I have had the last scan which was wonderful and thankfully baby moved from breech position to head down, also baby 2 was measuring great and my wonderful friends and family planned me a cute surprise baby shower (pictures below) which was lovely. So eager to meet my second little one and so excited (as selfish as it sounds) to not be pregnant anymore, it has been a rough 9 months but I will say it again, so so worth it! 


Birth plan...

Before I tell you what I hope for birth second time round I better summarise what my birth was like with Ella-Grace. With Ella-Grace I very much wanted a natural birth, a water birth if possible. I was planning on using only gas and air and no other pain relief/intervention. 40 weeks came and went however and I booked my induction for 41 weeks pregnant and with Ella-Grace being 1 in 5 of having down syndrome they were in more of a rush to get her out. I got to the hospital to be induced, Ella-Grace's heart rate was up and down the entire induction process (took a total of 48 hours from start to finish) and even though I gave it my best shot, being in active labor for 10 hours on only gas and air, dilating to 6/7cm, in the end because of Ella-Grace's unstable heart rate I was rushed for an emergency c-section. The opposite to the natural birth that had hoped for. Thankfully Ella-Grace was perfectly healthy (her heart rate dropping was due to her cord being wrapped round her neck and legs) and in fact the c-section saved her life so I would never of done anything differently but it did leave me longing to experience a vaginal birth as I always have. So when I was planning the birth for my second pregnancy this was the first thing that came to mind. 

My birth plan in short is: 

  • VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section) 
  • As natural as possible- want to avoid induction, intervention, drugs etc. 
  • (I would have a home birth if I could but with having a previous section I would feel safer in a hospital) 
  • Water birth if possible
  • No unneccesary IV's 
  • I want to be as mobile as possible


Although this is my birth plan I know from my first birth that they almost never go to plan; pregnancies and babies are unpredictable. So all that I really hope for is to avoid another section and experience a vaginal birth and of course another healthy baby is the most important thing. 

Goodbye for now and thanks for reading...


I am now writing this last paragrah no longer pregnant! I did not quite get this post finished and posted in time but hey ho that is just what happens, life happens. I am so looking forward to posting this and then following it up wih baby 2's birth story. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading all about my second pregnancy, I appreciate everyone's support on this journey to being a Mum of two and look forward to sharing the next chapter of my life with all my lovely readers. Over Two years of my blog now and I have so many lovely memories documented here, it's amazing. 

My final thoughts on this pregnancy is it was A LOT harder than my pregnancy with Ella-Grace but so worth it. There is nothing like growing a life inside you, it is truly magical and although I am fairly certain I do not wish to be pregnant again, I am more than grateful that I have managed to carry two gorgeous children to term. I am truly blessed. 

Until next time my lovely readers, thanks for reading. 



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