Pregnancy update: Weeks 12-20

I can’t quite believe I’m already half way through my second pregnancy – plus two weeks now as it’s taken me so long to get this written.

When I found out I was pregnant at around four or five weeks I had grand plans of regular blog updates so I would have a proper record of it … But as always, the best laid plans go to waste. I was so exhausted for the first few weeks that I could only lie on the settee watching nonsense TV by the time I got home from work and we’d sorted Santi out for bed, so blogging was put aside for a few months.

Anyway, as I said I was about four or five weeks along when we found out. I had a sneaky feeling as I’d been really hungry for a few days and just not feeling myself. My sense of smell went crazy (odd, I know, but it was the same with Santi) and certain smells made me feel really ill – one was a plug-in air freshener thing that Stew bought, which wasn’t ideal as walking into the kitchen made me feel sick even weeks after we’d got rid of it!

I felt rough for the first 12 weeks, but luckily, apart from a bout of food poisoning, I had less sickness this time around, which was a huge relief. I knew the best thing was to eat as soon as I could after getting up, and that would ease the nausea. Having said that, I did turn into quite a picky eater during the first trimester and only wanted bland food … there was a lot of mashed potato going on!

I started feeling movement a earlier this time, but I think that’s because I know what the first few flutters feel like. This baby, like Santi, is more active in the evening and is usually awake and kicking when we go to bed. I love feeling kicks, and I’m excited for Santi to feel them when they’re a bit stronger. He does point at my belly and say baby, but I don’t think he realises there’s actually a little person in there yet.

I’d say my bump is on the smaller side at the moment – some people haven’t even noticed I’m pregnant, but a couple of others have said I’m getting quite big (which I should be by now!). I wear dresses to work and I think that hides the bump a bit more than when I wear jeans at the weekend. I’m sure it’ll pop out soon and I’ll be complaining that nothing fits. Last time a lot of people didn’t know I was expecting until after the winter when I stopped wearing big coats … I think it could be the same this time.

I’ve bought a few maternity items so far.  A pair of jeans and some black jeggings from H&M (that I’m going to live in because they’re the comfiest trousers I’ve ever owned), two striped tops from ASOS (yes, more stripes) and two dresses that I immediately sent back because they were enormous … Enough room for a bump in the front and back, which was a bit ridiculous. I went and bought two dresses in a bigger size than normal from Topshop instead, so I’m really hoping not to grow too quickly so I can get some wear out of them.

Our 20-week scan went smoothly … And no, we didn’t find out the gender (sorry to disappoint those of you who wanted us to). All thoughts of whether it’s a boy or girl went out of the window as soon as I got on the bed. It just didn’t seem important once the sonographer started doing all the anomaly checks. The little one didn’t stop wriggling the whole time and made it a lot harder so it felt like we were there for a long time. It was sucking its hand, yawning and swallowing, which was amazing to see. And everything was fine as far as they could tell, which was a relief as even if your pregnancy seems to be going smoothly you can’t help but worry.

We had quite a few photos printed, but I have to admit I struggled to make out which way round the baby was! Oops. This one was quite clear though … and even I can tell it’s the face!

When I was pregnant with Santi I developed gestational diabetes, which was a huge shock as I don’t fit into any of the usual categories. This time around I’ve been put under consultant care from the start in case I develop it again, which so far is my only worry about the pregnancy. I’ve had one glucose tolerance test so far, which I passed (thankfully as it would have made Christmas less fun having to keep an eye on my diet and blood sugars), but I’m booked for another one in March – as the midwife put it I’m “not trusted” to not develop it again. I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I’d love to be able to give birth in the midwife led centre this time if there’s no chance of complications. With your second pregnancy there aren’t as many appointments and it’s quite strange not having to pop off to see the midwife every few weeks. If I don’t develop diabetes I won’t have another scan either … last time we seemed to have monthly scans towards the end! So if all is well, the 20 week scan will be the last time we see baby until he or she makes an arrival.

I hate to say it, but this pregnancy is flying by and I’m so busy with work and Santi that I barely have time to keep up with all the changes and developments. Last time I could have told you exactly what fruit Santi was the size of during each week of pregnancy … This time I can just about keep track of how many weeks along I am. It makes me feel guilty, but at least it doesn’t feel like time is dragging as we wait for June.

Here’s a little round-up of my pregnancy so far…

How far along: 20 weeks (nearly 22 now!)

Symptoms: Nausea and sickness at first, random nosebleeds, increased sense of smell (just some of the things people don’t tell you about!), pain under my ribs if I eat too much (this plagued me when I was pregnant with Santi), and generally looking fairly rough (this might not have anything to do with the baby, but I’ll use it as an excuse to buy the most expensive moisturiser I’ve ever owned – well, it was in the sale).

We think it’s … A boy

Weight gain: Around 7-8lbs which I’m pleased with. I’m only keeping track because if I end up on the diabetes diet I want to weigh more starting off than last time – I ended up underweight and quite weak when Santi was born, which I don’t want to happen again.

So far we’ve bought … One vest (lucky baby!)

Cravings: Juice, mainly orange. I’m completely off tea again, which is really sad as I love a good cuppa.