Six Weeks Pregnant
This week we are starting to settle back into normal life. With all the cleaning finished at the old house and keys handed back in, we are able to enjoy a somewhat more normal routine. The girls and I are loving getting out in our new backyard, and it's got the perfect paved area for riding scooters.
Starting to seem more real
One of the highlights of my week was when I went for a regular check up with my pelvic floor physio and got to tell her that I’m pregnant. She was thrilled for me, and proceeded to give me all the exercises she gives pregnant mums to do, telling me to come back at 26 weeks unless I have any other issues meantime which need physio. It made it all seem just that bit more real! I’m one of those pregnant mums again 🥰
Teaching the next generation
During the week I had an antenatal visit with a couple who have booked me for birth support, and I took my baby and pelvis model along with me as I typically do for the first visit. I find adding a visual for the explanation on the physiology of birth and baby’s movement through the pelvis can be a great help. When I was unpacking my bag at home, the girls were excited to see the baby, so I took the opportunity to show them the way baby moves through the pelvis to be born too! I’m so excited for opportunities to educate and equip my daughters in ways that will serve them amazingly in the future - either for pregnancy and birth with their own children, or to support others. I am thrilled that they can grow up with the mindset that birth is a normal, natural, incredible and NON-scary process!
What symptoms am I feeling?
Still feeling pretty normal, though I have to say that eating mince for breakfast is starting to be quite the challenge. I think it’s the red meat especially. I seem to cope OK with turkey, even though I’m not enjoying it as much as normal. I struggle a bit with how to find the balance between following my body’s instincts, but also eating things that are good for me even if not necessarily enjoying them. When pregnant with my first I ended up going off SO many foods during the first trimester. By 10ish weeks only white rice, potatoes and bread sounded appealing. Second time around I did much better, and I don’t think I ended up dropping anything completely, maybe just reducing quantities of less-appealing foods. We’ll see how we go this time!
Of course, I realise that my “challenges” here are laughable to the mums who can’t keep anything down during first trimester. I definitely don’t pretend my food likes and dislikes are remotely comparable with constant nausea and vomiting. I admire hugely ALL the women who have the strength and courage to get through difficult, awful or terrible pregnancies for the sake of their babies and families 💪🏻❤️
How has baby been developing this week?
This week baby’s heart develops enough to start beating! It’s just a long tube at this stage with a lot more development to go, but it gets stuck into work anyway. The bloodstream develops and the neural tube closes over at the top where the brain is, and over the base of the spinal cord. Hands and feet start to develop, and the stalk that was just the beginnings of the umbilical cord last week now elongates and becomes the umbilical cord, which will carry oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the baby, and the baby’s waste products and carbon dioxide to the mother. Baby’s crown to rump length (CRL) is 2-4mm!
What am I doing to prepare?
The physio appointment was booked pre-pregnancy anyway, but ended up doubling as a pregnancy support session which was awesome. I have also been in touch with a local private midwife who has homebirth availability in March. We’ll be catching up in the coming weeks to see if we’re a good fit for each other!
A favourite resource:
Evidence Based Birth is another top favourite resource. They have a vision of “a world in which all birthing families have access to safe, respectful, evidence-based, and empowering care.” They provide their free “signature articles” on a variety of birth interventions, testing typically done through pregnancy, and various other things, giving unbiased information based on research and evidence. It’s so unbiased that it can actually throw you a bit sometimes. We’re so used to everyone having their own opinions! You get to the end of the article and you’re like... “So...but what do they think I should do?” The answer is they don’t. They give you the information, and then it’s up to you to decide what the best option is for you based on your values, your goals and your circumstances. They also have a regular podcast covering all manner of birth-related topics.
And that’s it for this week! 🌿💛
[Image credit: Baby feet photo by Juan Manuel Sanchez on Unsplash]