5 Weeks Pregnant & BLOATED!

Gah! I'm only 5 weeks pregnant but could easily be mistaken for being so much farther long!

Bloat has got me BIG time in week 5 and I'm HUGE!

I mean, I'm not a skinny minny in any event, but usually I can suck my pot belly in, but NO chance of that!

I've started taking Fybogel twice a day as Its safe in pregnancy and is meant to help. 

It tastes like arse but if it works, I'll give it a go!

Mnnn, yummy! (Not!)

This week I've been mainly feeling feeling exhausted to the point of falling asleep at my desk and bloated.

Heartburn gets me every now and then  but it's manageable!

I also found out this week that the hospital that I want to eventually give birth in has accepted me into their care, so I can now expect a letter soon with my first antenatal appointment booked for around week 10 ahead of my scan at week 12!

EXCITING!!

I also re-tested with my Clear Blue Digital to see if I had progressed from PREGNANT 2-3, which I should have, and low and behold I saw this.

Guess it means everything is happening as it should! (Fingers crossed!)

Did I mention that the number of weeks you are pregnant is actually calculated from the 1st day of your last period? 

Therefore, although you wont actually conceive until at least 2 weeks after your last period (you tend to ovulate around 14 days after your period), this is the way the docs calculate it- so my CBD may say 2-3 weeks pregnant, I am actually (In the eyes of the doctors) 4-5 weeks. Get it? 

4 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms!

It's really early days but I've been experiencing several symptoms from about 5 days before I got my BFP.

* I've been pretty moody -Not uncommon for me, but I've found myself getting far more irritated and annoyed by little things that wouldn't ordinarily annoy me.

* From about 4 days before I got my positive test I've had what feels like mild heartburn or indigestion. Gaviscon's been helping with that though, thank god!

Life saver!

* From the day before I got my news my boobs have been feeling particularly tender, sore and tingly.

* I've been feeling super tired, no, exhausted!

* I've been going to the loo for a #1 loads, including throughout the night, but seem to have the opposite issue with the other end, if you see what I mean....

I thought it would be fun to post bump photos every other week or so, but as 'the bump' won't be showing for several weeks yet I've decided to only start posting when it does begin to finally pop!

4 & A Bit weeks: Re-testing!

So It's been nearly a week since I got my big fat positive and I've already re-tested about 6 times... Just to make sure...

I can't help it! I got my BFP 3 days before my period was due, so naturally I HAD to test again on the day it was meant to arrive, just to make sure.

I then also had to test several days later, just to make sure again.

Sure, I've got some pretty strong symptoms, such as super painful boobs that let me know pretty much all of the time that I have loads of new hormones flying round my system, but without having had a scan and without having a bump, how can you really know there's a little person in there!

I do need to stop though, at £12 for 2 digital tests its getting 'spensive!

I was chuffed to see on last night's test that it now shows PREGNANT 2-3 rather than 1-2, which reassured me that things were currently progressing OK and I promise that I will stop testing soon! (Maybe...)

Am I the only one or did/do any of you do the same?!

The Weirdest Pregnancy 'Symptoms' I Ever Googled

Any ladies currently enduring their TWW will know what I'm talking about.

The constant 'symptom' spotting that goes on among us is so rife there is even a bloomin' website dedicated to us crazy ladies, aptly called TwoWeekWait  where you can go and obsess over your 'symptoms' with other ladies in the same situation!

I for one was guilty of googling the most absurd 'symptoms' on the quest for my big fat positive, and have decided to put embarrassment aside and show you.

(These are actual questions that I googled, so Please don't judge me!)

 'Does twitching in my eye mean I'm pregnant' - No, It probably meant I was tired, stressed or in need of an eye test. 

 'My top lip is swollen, am I pregnant?'- Er, no- It was a reaction to a lip balm I was using.

'I have a runny nose, am I pregnant?'- Again, no- I just had a cold.

'I have cramps in my legs, am I pregnant'?- No, I just over did it at the gym.

While symptom spotting can drive you mad, It did help me pass the time during the two week wait, which felt like it went on forever!

For the record, the month I actually got pregnant was the month I had pretty much no 'symptoms' at all!

Trying To Conceive Is Hard

Before we got our news, we were TTC for 6 months and while that is a relatively short amount of time, for me it felt like a LIFETIME.

Anyone else who is currently trying for a baby will understand how each month is such a roller-coaster of emotions.

You start off  positive and optimistic

Your period  has just gone and your gearing up for another month of baby making and are sure that this month will be the month it happens.

You anxiously start peeing on ovulation sticks

 You start peeing on your sticks around 10-14 days after your period started and wait to see those two pink lines show up that give you the green light to get baby making! 

A positive result (2 parallel lines) on an ovulation stick means that you're due to ovulate in the next 24-36 hours (though it isn't a guarantee of ovulation). You still believe this is going to be your month. 

You then enter the abyss that is the dreaded Two Week Wait (TWW) WEEK 1

 The two week wait is the longest wait of your life, EVER, until you either get your period or get your big fat positive. I think the TWW should be split in two. The first week is not so bad. You wouldn't be experiencing any symptoms if you were pregnant, and you feel excited about the following week.

You enter the 2nd week of the TWW 

This weeks SUCKS. There is no denying it. By the 2nd week of the TWW you are analysing every niggle and twinge. You stare at your boobs for hours wondering if they've got bigger and are constantly checking to see if they feel sore or sensitive. You also find yourself googling every single thing you are experiencing to see if its a pregnancy symptom and are addicted to the website www.twoweekwait.com   

 At the end of the TWW you then find yourself on knicker watch- every time you go to the loo you wonder if your period has arrived and decide you cant wait to find out any longer, you're going to take a test.

You take a Test

You know you shouldn't, you're only 8-9 days past ovulation and know that even if you are pregnant, you're unlikely to get a positive result, but cant stop yourself anyway.

 Its  BFN (Big fat negative) and you feel horrible and wish you'd never done the test in the first place. But your boobs DO still feel sore, so maybe, just maybe....

You get your period

 And you probably get it on the same sodding day as you wasted £6 on a pregnancy test. Great. Those 'symptoms' you thought you had? Yeah, that was PMS. Mother Nature is a cruel witch and the symptoms of PMS are often similar to those of pregnancy. 

You cry, you feel upset that another month has gone by and you still haven't got the news you so wish.

Then, before you have a chance to mourn, the cycle starts all over again.

I described the whole process as being a Roller-coaster that you desperately want to get off but know that you can't.

If you stop being optimistic, you know it'll all fall apart, so all you can do is carry on, hoping each month that this month will be the one.

Yes it sucks, but when it is finally the month, all of the others fade into the distance and it all feels worth it.

1st Doctors Appointment

So after our exciting news on Sunday, I found myself testing again on Monday, and again on Tuesday (Just to make sure you see- I wonder how long that'll continue!)

I popped into Boots on my way to work on Tuesday 28th and saw a leaflet saying that as soon as you find out you're pregnant, to get a doctors appointment, so that's what I did, and even managed to get one for the same day!

Me and hubby had decided that we would wait until the 12 week mark to tell anyone, so I was super excited to be able to actually say the words 'I'm Pregnant' to someone else! 

It's as if saying them out loud somehow makes it feel more real!

The doc was really nice and congratulated us before running through some general questions such as If I smoke (not anymore!) or drink, or am on any other medication.

He then weighed me (cringe), took my blood pressure and asked me If I'd worked out my due date.

OBVIOUSLY that was the first thing I did and It's February 7th 2014 by the way.

He then asked me what hospital I'd like to give birth in, we told him, and he said that the hospital would be in touch in the next few weeks to arrange our first appointment and scan.

For the next 10 weeks or so we were told that there wasn't a lot to do, just continue to take my folic acid (400mg per day until week 12 is recommended) and just sit tight.

Easy for him to say!

Before we left he handed us the Spring/Summer Issue of Emma's Diary, a little week by week magazine about pregnancy which also has an AMAZING website, which you can find here.

I thought that was quite a nice touch personally!

So, for now all we can do is wait, and hope that I don't suddenly develop hideous morning sickness in the meantime! 

We're Having A Baby!

After 6  months of trying, On Sunday 26th May 2013 we finally got the news we had waited what felt like an lifetime for!

I had actually tested the previous, got a BFN (Big Fat Negative), had a huge breakdown, declared we were going to go private and chain smoked for the entire day.

I woke up on Sunday and something made me think that perhaps I should test. I'd run out of my cheap pregnancy tests (from peeing on all of them for the past 6 months to no avail) and only had my ovulation sticks and two Clear Blue Digital Tests to hand.

Clearly I didn't want to use my expensive, digital tests as I wasn't ready to see another horrible  NOT PREGNANT flash up at me, so I decided to use my ovulation sticks.

I'd heard from some forum that if you are pregnant, you will get a positive reading on an ovulation predictor stick as it registers a surge in hormones (granted not the same as when you ovulate, but hormones none the less) so decided that in the absence of any other cheapie test I'd try that.

I waited to look at the result, completely expecting to see just the one line, only I saw two.

I held my breath and raced down the stairs to find my hubby who was busy in the garden. I explained about the ovulation test and that it could mean I am pregnant, but that I wanted to google more about it first before I wasted a digital test.

Very calmly he said 'Ok then'- I guess he's been used to me being neurotic month after month and just thought it was best to leave me to it!

I googled several articles and read about other women who had gone on to get their BFP (Big fat positive) after a positive ovulation stick and thought 'Right, well I'm going to have to go and try one now arent I!'

I raced up the stairs, grabbed my Clear blue digital twin pack and raced to the bathroom.

I did what I needed to do then sat looking at the screen of the test. I knew from when I've tested before that a little hourglass should be spinning to show the test is working, but I was confronted with nothing. Just a blank, grey space.

'Oh bugger, the bloody test is a dud!' I realised!

With my heart pounding I knew I'd have to try my last test, but now I didn't need a wee!

GAH why couldn't this just be quick and simple! Talk about prolonging my pain!

Some time later I was able to do what I needed to do again and sat on my bed while awaiting what I thought to be the inevitable outcome, NOT PREGNANT.

Several minutes later my hubby called from downstairs making me jump. I grabbed the test of the bedside table and charged out of the door to find him, glancing down at the test as I went.

I almost fell down the stairs at this point, as right there, clear as day read 'Pregnant 1-2'.

So, after 6 months we finally got the BFP we'd been waiting for and spent the rest of the bank holiday weekend in a blissfully happy daze with the impact of how this is such a life changing moment, not quite sinking in, yet desperately excited and nervous to begin the next chapter of our lives and this amazing journey!