Pregnancy: The Third Trimester – Weeks 34 -36

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These few weeks have been a bit of a lull. We’ve been going through the motions and attended all of our regular appointments but things have started feeling like a waiting game!

Week 34

We started off with another ultrasound and our regular visit to the diabetes clinic. Everything was looking good and baby girl had gone from the 45th percentile to 86th! Quite the jump but incredibly positive.

My diabetes was still well controlled with the metformin so we were sent on our way to carry on doing what we were doing.

We continued our antenatal classes with The Honest Midwife with an Induction and Instrumental Birth session which I found very helpful and informative as someone who will be induced (provided I don’t go into spontaneous labour earlier than my induction date!)

I also had a long day in the office this week as I had in-person AWS Training which really took it out of me. Fortunately it was on a Friday so I had the weekend to recover.

Week 35

This was the first week in a long time that we didn’t have any medical appointments which was quite the relief!

We started the week off with another antenatal workshop from The Honest Midwife about Caesarean Section. Although I don’t plan to have one, it’s always better to be prepared than not. Information is power. It was another very informative course and I’ve been really impressed with the content and the course notes that are provided by Louise.

We then primarily relaxed during our off week and celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday with a meal out and a comedy night at the Glee Club.

Eating out has been incredibly experimental with gestational diabetes as there aren’t many restaurants that will provide a full nutritional breakdown of their dishes in order for you to make a fully informed decision on whether it may be safe for your blood sugars. I’ve been lucky that most places I’ve been able to find meals that contain enough fat to counteract the sugar and carbs! It’s always a gamble though and interesting to see my blood sugar results afterwards.

We had the midwife come and visit us at home at the backend of this week to go through a birth plan. Nothing was formalised in any way but the midwife talked through various options and gave us a lot of verbal information about things such as instrumental delivery, pain relief during birth, vitamin K injection for the baby, injection to deliver the placenta, contraception post-birth, etc. The outline can be found on the NHS website. Fortunately I’d sat through various antenatal classes already so had very few questions, otherwise this may have been a much longer visit! But they were with us for about an hour before needing to carry on to their next pregnant person of the day.

I did have to remind the midwife that I needed to give a blood sample to check my iron levels as I had been put on iron a few weeks before.

That same evening, we had another antenatal class with The Honest Midwife on Infant Feeding. This course was excellent and I found Louise gave a very balanced viewpoint on both formula and breast feeding, as well as explaining the biology behind breastfeeding to give everyone a full understanding.

Week 36

Finally at week 36, the exhaustion was fully back to where it was before in the first trimester. Fortunately, this was my last week in work before starting my maternity leave which was a huge relief. I was really starting to struggle to get through the day so I think I timed it right for me. The people who work for longer must be superhuman because I don’t think I would have been able to make it much longer!

We had another antenatal class with The Honest Midwife on Practical Parenting and I think this one was the one my husband probably found most relevant and helpful to him. He’s attended them all so far but this one gave him more advice that he could use himself with how to take care of the baby.

I finished work at 36+4, so we celebrated with a trip into town for some lunch and some light shopping. We forgot how stressful it was to go shopping at Christmas time so we almost regretted it until we had a delicious meal at The Giggling Squid.

We joined a free antenatal class by The Baby Academy on Saturday on Breastfeeding Preparation which was run by a lactation consultant. I found this paired well with the class we attended by The Honest Midwife. It focused more on breastfeeding specifically and provided the same information but with more detail.

All the antenatal classes we have attended so far have been online classes. It is much more convenient for us to attend an online class as full-time work didn’t always accommodate in-person classes or allow me to have to energy to even consider them. The luxury of an online class allows me to sit at home in my pyjamas and consume the same information in comfort, as I would if I was watching TV.

This is where I would specifically recommend classes by The Honest Midwife. Louise is a bit like marmite and she can be quite a lot for some, but that’s the benefit of attending one of her free classes before committing to pay for any other classes. Although all of her classes are online, they are live and interactive so you can ask questions and get real time answers. She does encourage and appreciate people being on camera, but it is not compulsory. I’ve found all the content she’s provided to be very helpful for someone who is pregnant for the first time and as I mentioned previously, the course notes sent out after each class have been really beneficial. I would definitely recommend attending one of her free classes if you’re pregnant or a partner of a pregnant person and looking for antenatal classes.

As I approach Week 37, I’m feeling tired and ready for this baby to come out now. Pregnancy is no joke, but we’re approaching the final hurdle now. I just want to be able to eat a doughnut again!

I just need to organise the hospital bags for myself and baby and fingers crossed we won’t have to wait too much longer for her to make an appearance.

Pregnancy: The Third Trimester – Week 31 to 33

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3 weeks have gone by and it really does feel like the final stretch now. I’m now at 34 weeks so here is how the last 3 weeks have gone for me.

Week 31

Week 31 was quiet from the medical side of things. I had a midwife check up with the usual urine sample, blood pressure check and foetal doppler. At this appointment, I flagged some of my pain and discomfort in my hips and legs and the midwife recommended that I self-refer to physiotherapy at my local hospital.

This was an easy process for me. I was able to complete a form online and e-mail it over to the department. I did this on Thursday and by the following week, I was given an appointment letter! I must admit, I was surprised at how quickly they got back to me but I was pleased.

Week 32

Week 32 was a busy week for me in general. It started with a trip with the girls to the comedy club which was excellent, but due to my constant need to use the toilet, I was up and down like yo-yo. I was able to eat out and my blood sugars didn’t spike which was a huge relief too.

Following this, I had my 32 week ultrasound to check baby’s growth and my regular trip to the diabetes clinic. Baby’s growth had dropped ever so slightly on the graph so where she was at 55th percentile at our 28 week scan, she had dropped to the 45th percentile at the 32 week scan. The consultant wasn’t worried but scheduled additional scans to monitor baby’s growth to ensure that she didn’t continue to drop.

In this same week, I signed up to the ABA Feed study. This is a study being run by the University of Birmingham with the help of various universities around the UK and their corresponding health boards. Essentially the study is trying to identify whether having additional help with breastfeeding (more information, more one-on-one support) in the first 6 weeks of baby’s birth adds any benefit to the existing support provided. I thought there wasn’t anything to lose by participating in the study and it could potentially help future parents, as well as helping the students and researchers who are holding the study! I was randomly placed into the intervention group so we’ll see in a few months time how my planned breastfeeding journey goes…!

Towards the end of the week, we attended our final gig of 2023 with Fall Out Bay at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff. The gig was incredible but I must admit, I found it a struggle to stand for the full 2 hours with pelvic girdle pain and sciatica but I made it through! It was well worth it but I’m glad it’s the last gig of my pregnancy.

To finish off week 32 of pregnancy, I finally had my echocardiogram with the cardiology at the department. My diabetes consultant had asked for it quite a few weeks ago so it was quite a wait but they scanned my heart and checked it all and I was sent away assured that things appeared to look fine.

Week 33

Another busy medical week for us during week 33. We started with another ultrasound to check the blood flow from the placenta to the baby and the baby’s heartbeat as requested by my diabetes consultant. All of our ultrasounds have been great and the NHS staff have been excellent, but this ultrasound in particular was lovely. The sonographer went through and explained everything they were checking for and they even confirmed that baby has plenty of hair which was an exciting detail we hadn’t been told before!

Following this, I had my physiotherapy appointment which was incredibly helpful. I was diagnosed with piriformis rather than sciatica and the physiotherapist seemed confident that my symptoms would go away after birth. She went through various different exercises with me that would help ease some of the symptoms which I must admit, have definitely helped so far!

After this, we had our check in with the diabetes consultant to discuss the echocardiogram results and the ultrasound we had. All was looking good and we have a growth scan booked for next week to make sure baby is still on track. We also discussed induction as under NICE guidelines, those with gestational diabetes should avoid going beyond 40+6 and we also discussed harvesting colostrum from week 36 and I was given various leaflets and tools.

We also booked ourselves into a free antenatal class with The Honest Midwife. It was the Natural Labour & Birth course which is run regularly via Zoom so for those of you looking for something easy to attend, I highly recommend The Honest Midwife. The course was very informative and interactive. Louise was able to answer questions that were asked on the fly and provided comprehensive course notes. We enjoyed the course so much that we purchased a bundle to squeeze in over the next few weeks and also an infant first aid class!

To round off week 33, we had our baby shower which was an absolute joy. We planned it ourselves and we invited our closest friends and family and it was a lovely afternoon. I’ll write a separate post on planning the baby shower!

Going into Week 34, it’s all hands on deck now with many more appointments and my impending maternity leave.

Pregnancy: The Third Trimester – Week 29/30

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We started putting the nursery furniture together during these weeks. Some may think this is quite early, but I like to be prepared, and as I’m already struggling at this point in pregnancy, any later would have no chance of any preparation!

I’m fortunate that my husband is the most incredible support in my life, especially during this pregnancy, and I have been able to count on him for absolutely anything and everything. He has helped paint the nursery and put the furniture together with my limited assistance and I am so grateful.

I know that we are still very much in a society where plenty of people and partners don’t pull their weight or provide the emotional support that pregnant people need during such an important time in our lives so I know how lucky I am to have such a great support partner in my life.

Symptoms

The sore breasts have come back in full force. I have been having terrible aches and pains like they were in the first trimester.

Other aches and pains continue: struggles to get up off the sofa, turning in bed, getting up out of bed, the constant need to pee… the list really is quite endless.

The fatigue and exhaustion is back too. I feel like I really only had about 8 weeks of feeling well in my second trimester and everything has reverted back in the third trimester so far. The countdown is very much on for this baby to arrive and for the pregnancy to end!

Flu/Covid Jabs

I was invited to have my flu and Covid jabs and had an appointment booked for a Saturday afternoon, which I found odd and suspicious but it made sense given the time of year and my pregnancy. I accepted both jabs and it was a quick and streamlined process.

The nurse firstly asked me why I was eligible as I was wearing a flowing dress that made my bump very subtle but then got on with things and gave me my pfizer COVID jab in my left arm and the flu jab in my right arm.

I felt fine after both with only a slight arm ache in both arms which was a relief!

Doctor’s Appointments

With my high heart rate at my last diabetes clinic appointment, I was asked to go back to clinic in week 30 to check if everything was ok. I still hadn’t received a letter for my echocardiogram from the cardiology department but we discussed my blood sugars and she took my pulse manually and was happy that it had dropped.

I suspect that my heart rate was high 2 weeks prior due to feeling unwell with a cold and sore throat but fortunately that passed after a week or so and I felt much better.

My next appointments will be a visit to see the midwife at 31 weeks, and my 32 week ultrasound scan and diabetic clinic visit.

Pregnancy: The Third Trimester – Week 28

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Last week was our first week in the third trimester, week 28! I can tell you now, the aches and pains are still present and thriving.

Oddly, this week, I’ve had more people ask me if they can touch my bump. Fortunately only friends and family, and most importantly, they asked!

Midwife Appointment

At 28 + 1, I had my regular midwife appointment. The midwife took my blood pressure, did the breath test, tested my urine sample as well as asking me the standard questions about my general health and wellbeing.

I flagged with her that I had started getting back pain and pains in the legs and she said that it was likely to be the start of sciatica, so that is something to look forward to…

Normally at this appointment, they would also measure the fundal height which is just an estimated measurement of the baby’s size based on the size of your belly.

Due to my gestational diabetes, I didn’t have this measurement as I was due to have a growth scan that afternoon anyway.

28 Week Growth Scan

As normal with any hospital scans, we parked up (which is always a challenge in itself) and headed to the ultrasound department. The scan didn’t take long and they measured baby up and were happy with what they saw. She was measuring at around the 55th percentile which was a relief to hear!

You will always be worried about your baby when you are pregnant, wanting to know that they are growing ok and that their heart is beating. It most certainly doesn’t help when you get diagnosed with gestational diabetes and read the risks of baby getting too big or even too small!

When taking my blood pressure during my diabetes clinic appointment, my heart rate was incredibly high. We weren’t entirely sure why, although I was ill with a sore throat. I was sent for an ECG and also sent to book an echocardiogram to try and diagnose the issue. My consultant thought it was best to get it checked as any continued increase heart rate would be dangerous for a natural birth and may mean a caesarean delivery or earlier induction.

I’m currently still waiting for an appointment for the echocardiogram so I am unsure if there is a more sinister reason for my increased heart rate, but I suspect we’ll find out in the coming weeks.

Attending a Wedding

We had a beautiful wedding to attend to during this week and these are my tips and tricks:

  • Wear a belly band! It will save your back, whether you’re in flats or heels.
  • If you wear a belly band, wear a nice flowing dress to cover it up nicely.
  • Bring snacks. This was especially important for me to help stabilise my blood sugars during the day, but also, the day is long as you’ll be happy you brought snacks (don’t share!).
  • If you’re wearing heels, bring flats to change into for the evening. Comfort is everything.
  • Finally, take lots of photos! Not just of the bride and groom, but of yourself. You won’t get dressed up like this often, especially during your pregnancy, so document it!

The Symptoms

Exhaustion seems to be creeping it’s way back into my life and the struggle to stay up to watch Married At First Sight UK or Big Brother is becoming very challenging after a full day of work.

My back is starting to ache a lot now and moving in general is a lot more inconvenient than it’s ever been. It takes me forever to get up off the sofa and even longer to walk to wherever I need to get to. There’s still plenty more weeks to get through, so wish me luck!

Pregnancy: The Second Trimester

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As I enter the third trimester, I think it’s time to post how the second trimester has been!

The second trimester sits between weeks 13 and 28 of your pregnancy. Generally speaking, people say that you start to feel better during the second trimester (for those of you who may have not felt great in the first!) and for the most part, they are right.

Symptoms

I didn’t feel better for quite some time into my second trimester. I was waiting for the week when things would suddenly turn around and it was quite far into my second trimester before things started to improve.

Mood swings: The mood swings were in full force during the second trimester. I would cry because I was hungry but didn’t want to eat anything. Emotions ran high throughout for many different reasons and I couldn’t control my reactions.

Sore boobs: This was a continuation from the first trimester but wasn’t quite as agonising. The pains were fewer and further between but were still very much present.

Leg cramps: The leg cramps were a surprise to me, but all previous mothers I knew were kind enough to inform me that they had all experienced the same thing! I remember walking casually back up the stairs and getting sudden stabbing pains up my calf. What a delight…

Hip pain, growth cramps and round ligament pain: I wasn’t expecting hip pain to start this early but the aches and pains came and started building. It has been a heavy discomfort and walking has been tiring and painful. To help with this, I purchased a bump belly band from Amazon which really helped. I wore it at Reading Festival and it made a huge difference for my comfort. I also purchased a medicine ball to sit on during the day which has also helped with stretching. Of course, the pains haven’t gone away, but these things most certainly help ease.

Fetal Movements

The second trimester was full of plenty of firsts! I felt my first ‘flutter’ at around 16 weeks. I wasn’t sure if it was just my stomach rumbling or if it was baby girl making moves.

With an anterior placenta, which I have, it can take a few more weeks to confidently feel baby move due to the position of the placenta, but I could confidently say that she was moving at 23 weeks.

Patterns started developing over the following weeks. She likes to kick before meal times (as if she can tell food will be coming) and also before bedtime at around 10:30pm. She also kicked during a few gigs we went to. I’m unsure whether that was due to enjoying the music or not!

Sometimes the kicks can come as a surprise and can feel a bit uncomfortable, but it is a relief so know she’s well in there and letting me know with her kicks.

More recently, at 27 weeks, I could start to feel her physically turn which was also uncomfortable, but fascinating at the same time.

4D Scan

At 27 + 4, we booked in a private 4D scan to catch a real glimpse of baby girl and it was amazing. The imaging was so clear and we were able to see her moving inside.

She’s getting sassy now too and doesn’t appreciate being bothered in the womb. When the sonographer jiggled her around to try and get a better view of her face and when going back to her, she had started frowning and appeared to be very displeased.

Our parents absolutely loved seeing the photos and videos after and we can’t wait to see if she will look the same when she arrives in the world.

For those that are curious, we went back to First Encounters for a 4D Growth and Wellbeing scan.

Everything Else

At around 20 weeks, a lot of my first trimester symptoms started easing. I was able to eat normally again with my appetite increasing and my exhaustion started to improve too.

There’s a bit of a gap between the 20 week anomaly scan and the 25 week midwife appointment. It’s a bit of a mystery and we’re sort of left to fend for ourselves during this period. For me, it was during this period that I went to the GP and ended up being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I am relieved that I went to the GP with my suspected UTI to catch everything early as it allowed us to take action sooner rather than later.

At the 25 week midwife appointment, the heartbeat doppler was used to check in on baby and listen to her heartbeat and that was a lovely surprise. No fundal height was measured at this point as that is due to start at the 28 week appointment.

With the gestational diabetes comes more closer monitoring so I now have additional growth scans to check that baby’s growth is ok and to check my weight and blood pressure.

For those who are working, it was at my 25 week appointment that I received my MATB1 form to send to my employer to submit my maternity leave request.

With all these extra appointments coming up, I may post more regularly to update fortnightly on how things are going!

Gestational Diabetes: A Few Weeks In…

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So it’s been a few weeks since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and the adjustment has been real. Social media algorithms have creepily done their job and now my feeds are full of people diagnosed with GD going through their thoughts and feelings.

As mentioned in my previous post, I was prescribed metformin fairly quickly, starting with 1 1000mg tablet with my evening meal. This helped control my fasting numbers but my post-meal numbers were still up and down. After visiting the diabetes clinic and speaking to the nurse, she recommended taking a second tablet with breakfast to help control my meal numbers.

I’ve been taking 2 1000mg tablets a day for about 10 days now and my numbers are much improved. Experimenting with meals is still questionable and my bloody sugars have been out of range a few times, but in general, they’re much better and a drastic improvement on what they were before.

When speaking to the doctor at my last appointment, she reassured me that the uncontrollable numbers were very common for gestational diabetes as they are dictated by my hormones. For the first week or so, I was struggling with my emotions when trying to diet control. I think I had a fear of needing to inject insulin (even though I don’t have a fear of needles), but the more I learn about it, the more I understand that there is nothing to be fearful of and the main priority is protecting the baby and my health.

I have additional scans booked in now at 28, 32 and 36 weeks to watch baby’s growth to ensure that she is growing as expected, so I will be sure to keep you all posted on my progress.

Diet Changes

The diet changes have been a struggle, primarily due to the reduction in carb intake and increase in fat. A vegan diet is by nature lacking in a lot of fat so it’s been difficult to strike the right balance of foods in my meals. It didn’t help when my blood sugars were impossible to control too so we didn’t really know what meals were and weren’t working.

Since the metformin has been doing it’s job, we’re much more confident with what I’m eating now and have been rotating meals to keep things interesting.

The most important swaps we’ve made include:

  • White rice to brown basmati rice
  • Seeded bread to a low carb bread
  • White pasta to whole wheat pasta
  • Rice noodles to whole wheat noodles

My tolerance for carbs has been interesting, and I can’t eat fruit in the morning as it sets me up for a bad day of spikes. Fruit in the evening has been fine though.

Snacks have also become incredibly important to make sure that I get the right amount of carbs and calories in throughout the day!

  • Homemade lunchables with squeaky bean pastrami, houmous, nairns seeded oatcakes and violife smoked cheddar
  • Carrot sticks and houmous
  • Quorn smoked ham with cauldron falafel
  • Selected misfits protein bars
  • Sugar free alpro soy yogurt with blueberries, strawberries and pip and nut almond butter

Nut butters have been an absolute staple and saviour to counteract the sugars with fats. Peanut butter and almond butter are now in constant use in my meals.

I will post recipes soon of what meals have been good for me in hopes that it will help others manage their gestational diabetes, but remember, what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.

I have a whole new found respect for those with any form of diabetes and the difficulties they face trying to manage their diet and mealtimes in order to protect their health.

Gestational Diabetes: Diagnosis

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At 22 weeks, I went to visit my GP with a suspected UTI. With being pregnant comes with more attention and the GP also checked my blood sugar. He flagged that it was unusually high and asked me to book a blood test at the hospital and sent me away with some forms.

I must admit, I was a little bit lost with it all and struggled to get through to the pathology department but I eventually made it through and booked an appointment for a few days later.

I remembered to take my blood forms to the hospital and had my bloods taken. That same afternoon, I received a phone call from the GP office to say that the GP would like to discuss my results with me next week which was 6 days from that phone call. It was a stressful few days, not knowing what the outcome would be, especially with something so important.

On that day, the GP called during the day to inform me that he has confirmed that I have gestational diabetes, asked me to inform my midwife team who will take the necessary action and to read the guidance on the NHS website.

I’m not sure if this is the same across the UK, but in my local health board, it’s a team of community midwives rather than a dedicated midwife (at least at this stage). I contacted the midwifery team after my call from the GP and left a message with the person who answered the phone. After that, I was left in the dark with my diagnosis with limited information and no contact from anyone else in the medical field.

Fortunately, my husband was straight on it and started researching immediately to find out what diet changes we needed to make and has since started to make them in hopes that it will improve my blood sugar levels.

We received a letter a few days later with an appointment at the diabetic clinic at the hospital for a few days later which was a relief. We were still none the wiser with this limited contact, but at least it was a start.

At the diabetic clinic, we saw the nurse who took my weight and blood pressure. She had raised concerns that from the blood test ordered by the GP that I may have Type 2 Diabetes rather than Gestational. Our minds were racing and we were then incredibly worried as I had no inkling that I may have had diabetes before my pregnancy, especially after the GP had confirmed on the phone to me that it was not pre-existing.

She asked us some questions which included whether we’d done some research and made some changes, which of course we had. She was pleased to hear it and went to get the doctor that my appointment was supposed to be with. As this was an initial appointment, I did not see the doctor this time which I thought was strange as the letter received was specifically for the doctor, but the nurse we had the pleasure of dealing with was more than professional. She provided us with all the reading material and gave me my blood glucose monitor to take home to start measuring my blood sugar.

When demonstrating, we measured my post-breakfast blood sugars which were high. I had eaten porridge with almond milk, berries, peanut butter and desiccated coconut, and 1 hour 40 minutes later I had a reading of 9.5 which is very high. The nurse wanted to check the ketones in my blood so I went for a quick blood test in another room and this nurse confirmed my ketones were within range. This gave the nurse more confidence that my diabetes was only gestational and not type 2.

We were then sent home and had a meeting with the dietician in the afternoon who talked us through some of the documentation and suggested changes. She was incredibly helpful and also more than understanding of my vegan diet which made me feel much more comfortable.

It’s been 5 days since that appointment and already a lot has happened. I received a call on Friday morning to check up on how my blood sugar had been behaving. My numbers were up and down so when relaying back to the nurse, she wanted to check next steps with the consultant. I have been prescribed metformin to start taking but have yet to pick up my prescription due to the unit being closed over the weekend but we will see how we manage.

We were hoping to diet control it, but even with the changes we’ve made so far with all the guidance and research we had done online, my body does not seem to want to behave and use it’s insulin effectively as it’s supposed to.

We are continuing to learn what we need to do to help control and manage my gestational diabetes and I will continue blogging in hope that these posts may help others who have also been diagnosed.

If you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, just remember that it is not our fault and it is completely out of our control! The hormones surging through our body during pregnancy is preventing our bodies from using insulin effectively and it is different for everyone.

Pregnancy: The First Trimester

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It’s been a long time since I’ve posted on this blog. A lot has changed in my life (admittedly the veganism hasn’t) but I got married and my husband and I are now pregnant with our first baby!

In this blog post, I want to recount the experiences I felt during my first trimester with as much honesty as I can. I’ve learnt a lot in these first few months which I could never have been prepared for and I want anyone who comes across this post to feel seen or even be prepared for the future.

Since we saw that little strip come up with that little pink line to indicate we were pregnant on the 17th April, it’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride. The immediate emotions of excitement and joy with the desperation to share the news with our nearest and dearest, which we did.

I can hear some of you tutting away at the early announcement of our pregnancy. I was only 5 weeks pregnant when I told my parents, my in-laws, siblings and closest friends. Some people like to be traditional and not share this news until they know the baby is out of the ‘danger’ phase. I was of the opposite opinion, whereby I was too excited to keep the news to myself, but also, support is key in any situation so the more people that knew who I could trust was what I wanted.

Conception wise, we’ve been lucky. We got pregnant after only 3 months of trying. I was using ovulation strips to try to accurately pin point my ovulation date which seems to have done the trick. I know that this isn’t the case for everyone, but I would advise checking NHS advice on what’s normal and when to seek help.

I started prenatal vitamins in November ahead of starting to try. And for the vegans out there, the vitamins I am taking are by Ritual. They’re a little pricey but the ingredients are fully traceable, and of course, it’s vegan! There are plenty of more affordable vegan options too with Vitabiotics doing a vegan gummy. Research is key to make sure you get everything you need and making sure that it’s 100% vegan!

First Trimester Symptoms

Let’s get straight into the symptoms! This is what I really want to get into.

Firstly, I’m a hormonal migraine sufferer, and not long after conception I had a terrible migraine which was out of what would have been my usual cycle (first day of period). At first I didn’t think much of it but after a few weeks, it made sense as my hormones were going wild in preparation for the baby.

The other symptoms that are worth mentioning are sore breasts, constipation, bloating, cramps, light spotting, nausea and exhaustion.

The sore breasts were consistent for many weeks in the first trimester. I went up a cup size in this time and even now at 17 weeks, they’re still going. After those first few weeks of pain and the cup size growth, it did subside and came and went over time. Second trimester now, I’m up another cup size with continued sore breasts… be prepared to buy plenty of new bras in this time.

Bloating and constipation… just wow. I’ve usually had great digestion (especially since going vegan) but the pregnancy bloat made me feel like I was already showing a bump at 6 weeks! The constipation has been difficult but is something that comes and goes. I think the key is to try to keep a healthy diet that’s full of fibre.

Cramps were the concerning symptom. For a first time pregnancy, you’re already anxious because society makes you nervous in the first trimester with all their statistics. I spent a lot of time on Google and Reddit, checking my symptoms and worrying if I should contact the midwife. My cramps were very mild and similar to period cramps, which most websites said was normal. If you experience any painful cramps or bleeding, make sure you seek advice and check NHS guidelines online.

At around week 6, I had some very light spotting one evening. Again, it was an immediate worry with no idea on what was normal. To Google I went and I confided in one of my closest friends. Again, light spotting can be normal but if you do have concerns and it’s heavier and very red, definitely seek advice from your midwife who may direct you to your local Early Pregnancy Unit. Mine was very limited spotting on the tissue and a very pale pink.

Nausea came a little bit later, at around 9 weeks and only in the evenings. I was completely off food and my poor husband spent so much time cooking me so many healthy meals that I turned my nose up at. I’m still not 100% with food even now, but it is definitely starting to improve and I’m hoping my beige days are behind me, at least for a few months!

Finally, the exhaustion. Absolutely nothing prepared me for how tired I was going to be in the first trimester. I am quite a tired person anyway and enjoy a nap on the weekends. I work an office job as a Software Developer 8am – 4pm, Monday to Friday. Pretty much without fail from week 6, I have needed to nap straight after work in order to get through the remainder of the evening. I’m out of breath climbing stairs which wouldn’t have been a problem in my pre-pregnancy times and I’m just physically worn out. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that going through pregnancy is the equivalent of running a marathon a day. I’m not sure if it’s that bad but it probably isn’t far off! I’m into my second trimester and things are definitely improving, but I am still tired and a nap is always welcome!

As much as we’re ecstatic to be pregnant and can’t wait to have a baby at the end of the year, I do not understand how people put themselves through pregnancy time and time again. Everyone experiences pregnancy differently and no pregnancy will ever be the same so take my experience and advice with a pinch of salt.

Private Scans

To ease our anxious minds for this first pregnancy, we couldn’t wait until the 12 week mark for our first ultrasound scan.

My sister-in-law, who is also pregnant (with her second) and 3 weeks ahead of me, recommended a private scan business called First Encounters based in Cardiff. I looked them up and she said her scans there were a lovely experience so we booked in at 8 weeks.

We were nervous going in with our fingers crossed that everything was well.

The scan was great. The staff were brilliant, so welcoming and friendly, and we were told within minutes that the baby looked healthy and it’s heart was beating as expected. We got plenty of digital photos and videos which was a delight and we were so excited to share them with our family.

There are so many scan packages available and we have also booked an early gender scan ahead of our 20 week anomaly scan as an anniversary gift to ourselves.

NHS Appointment Timeline

My health board is the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board in South Wales. They have dedicated community midwives who I can contact.

When discovering I was pregnant, I contacted my GP who gave me the number for the community midwife in my local area. They also said that when I reach 7 weeks to call back to book an appointment with the midwife at the GP for 8 weeks. The community midwives visit my local GP surgery once a week which is when my regular appointments have been and will continue to be.

At my 8 week appointment, my height, weight, blood pressure and a urine sample were all taken and some basic notes were taken with general advice. As they were short on time, another appointment was then scheduled for a week later at my home to go through the remainder of the notes and for further advice from the midwives.

I then received a letter at around week 10 with the appointment for my first ultrasound appointment at the hospital. The ultrasound appointment took longer than I had anticipated. The scan itself was quick but we had to wait to have our bloods taken and then the midwife went through my notes with me again. I was also given a low dose of aspirin to take as I checked enough markers for pre-eclampsia risk which for me was first pregnancy and direct relative who had pre-eclampsia which was my aunt on my father’s side. In addition, as I’m of Chinese ethnicity, they booked me in for the glucose test at 28 weeks. At this appointment, I was given a letter for my 20 week anomaly scan.

Since then, we’ve had our 16 week appointment with the midwife at our local GP surgery where again they took my blood pressure and a urine sample and then booked me in again at 25 weeks.

Work and Pregnancy

You are not obliged to tell your employers about your pregnancy until 25 weeks I believe.

I fortunately have a very good relationship with my managers and my colleagues so I shared my news with them early.

There are benefits to this as they were very understanding with my symptoms and it also allowed me to have my antenatal appointments without having to take any annual leave as we in the UK are entitled to attend our appointments paid.

Since hitting the 12 week mark, I’ve shared the news with the rest of my colleagues and everyone has been so happy for me and supportive.

And again, I know this may not be everyone’s experience so take this with a pinch of salt and do what you think is best for yourself.

Advice

As you tell more people your good news, more and more people will want to offer their advice and share their experiences like I have with you in this blog post.

Generally speaking, people will be coming from a good place where they just want to offer help and support. But I must admit, the best piece of advice I’ve been given so far from my husband’s cousin is not to take anyone’s advice at all.

You will be the one who knows your body and your baby the best, and as I’ve said, no pregnancy is the same. Make sure you check up on NHS advice and guidelines but as a general rule, you do you and whatever you are most comfortable with.

Thanks to those of you who managed to make it to the end of this post! If you have resonated with any of this or just want someone to talk to, please feel free to e-mail me at vgnannabel@gmail.com. I’ll always be here to have a chat to and a vent!

#TooManyWomen

A few days ago, I posted a tweet on Twitter that went viral with the hashtag #TooManyWomen.

I wrote the tweet in light of the tragic news of Sarah Everard who went missing in London on March 3rd and whose body was found in woodland in Kent. For more information, please read this BBC news article.

Sarah’s tragic story has highlighted how vulnerable we as women are even with the extra precautions we’ve been taught to take such as covering up, walking on well lit roads and keeping our phones on us which are just a few among many more.

What really drives it home for me in particular is that Sarah was walking back to her home in Brixton through Clapham. My youngest sister and one of my closest friends both live in the Brixton area and this could easily have been them. It could have been any of us.

After seeing the statistic that 97% of women have experienced sexual assault, I wanted to share one of my experiences from my youth that really stood out in my mind.

There are many trolls who have replied to my tweet, trying to diminish my experience by telling me that people couldn’t have possibly seen him grab my breast, that ‘this is just what happens in night clubs’ or that I’m just lying altogether. I don’t owe any of them any explanation but I will say that people definitely did see it happen, and I was not dancing with him nor even close to him to justify ‘leading him on’.

The #TooManyWomen hashtag is not being used to diminish the experiences of men. The aim is to highlight that these experiences are happening to a lot of women (97% of them to reiterate the statistic). When I have spoken to any of my friends about this, not a single woman hasn’t had a story to share.

Never did I expect in my wildest dreams that this tweet would go viral, but more importantly, empower others to share their experiences also. The number of women who have spoken out and shared their stories proves how normalised this behaviour is across the world.

If you are one of the many women who has experienced sexual assault, we stand by you and we support you.

It’s more important, now than ever, to read these stories, support us and pave the way for change. Education is absolutely essential and victim blaming needs to stop. I hope that with the continued sharing of these stories that people’s eyes will open and we will start to see change happen.

Got No Beef in Cardiff City Centre [3]

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Since the COVID19 lockdown and social distancing rules came into place, I have locked myself away and tried to minimise my contact with the outside world. Fortunately, I’ve been able to work from home so my contact with the outside world has been minimal.

However, when I saw that Got No Beef had re-opened in line with government guidelines and were also participating in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, I couldn’t say no!

So last week, I ventured out into the big wide world with my brother and sister to get myself some dinner and boy, oh boy… it did not disappoint!

The MVP burger with poutine tots

The restaurant has reduced the number of tables in line with the government 2 metre distance rule so capacity is restricted which is understandable. They’ve put up perspex screens and plastic barriers between tables which is great, as well as a sanitisation station at the front of the restaurant.

The menu has been revamped and there are SO MANY new options! You can tell that they have put a lot of thought and effort into what they’ve put together. It was near impossible to choose!

I went for The MVP burger and a side of Buffalo Hot CHKN wings. Descriptions can be found on the menu itself so I highly recommend taking a look at their website to read through it all.

The MVP burger (inside)

Pictured above is the inside of The MVP. With the ‘mozzarella’ disc inside on top of the burger patty, when cut in half displayed the most appetising melted ‘cheese’ ever. The burger had a drizzle of pesto across the top and marinara sauce on the base. It tasted incredible.

The poutine tots were even better and are possibly my favourite side on the menu. I will most definitely be ordering them with every meal I have there! The gravy is so flavourful and the ‘cheese’ on top just puts it over the edge.

The Buffalo Hot CHKN wings speak for themselves. The ranch sauce drizzled on top and on the side add to the dish perfectly. I personally prefer a hotter taste, but they were delicious and are perfect for those who just want a good kick on the tongue.

We made sure we left room for dessert so to finish off, we treated ourselves to Soft Serve Sundaes!

From L to R: Rocky Road, Super Strawberry and Cookie Dough

We each treated ourselves to one which you can see above and Oh. My. God… they were unreal! There were 2 flavours on tap when we went, vanilla and biscoff. We were given the option of picking a flavour or a mix of the 2… and we all went for the mixed option!

I didn’t get any pictures that showed off the 50/50 split in flavour but it ran right through the middle and it was lovely. We tried a bit of each others and I have to say that Super Strawberry was my favourite and the biscoff flavour soft serve was my favourite of the 2!

I was so full from our mains and sides that I didn’t even manage to finish my sundae but everything was fantastic and totally exceeded my expectations.

Got No Beef are a small family run business and you can see how incredibly hard they have worked to where they have gotten. From day 1, when they travelled up and down the country showcasing at vegan fairs, to present day, working their socks off to bring us amazing vegan food in Cardiff at their restaurant.

I can’t say enough good things about them, but you guys will have to taste it for yourselves! Make sure you follow them on all their social media accounts at @GotNoBeefUK to keep updated, but more importantly, pop down to the restaurant and sample their wares. You will not be disppointed!