8 Weeks Pregnant - meeting the midwife

We met our midwife this week! The local private midwife we’d contacted came over for a face-to-face meeting and we asked all our questions and booked her on the spot! So excited to have this support in place for the pregnancy and birth. The next big exciting thing to look forward to is seeing our baby at the 12 week ultrasound 🥰 I’m trying not to be too impatient! The weeks do pass quickly when you’re busy (which is always with toddlers!), so I’m sure we’ll be there before I know it.

What symptoms am I feeling?

I did have a couple of days with more fatigue this week, though the fact that I got to nearly 8 weeks without anything major is a real bonus! And even then, not too bad to be honest. I had to “nap while the baby napped” like they always say you should with a newborn, and managed through the day pretty well. Definitely not the level of fatigue I’ve had by 6 weeks with my last two pregnancies. I do tend to mull over it a bit and try and understand what’s different... Is it anything to do with the fact that I’ve been more physically active pre-pregnancy? Am I eating any differently? Am I sleeping more? Am I one of those mums who has different symptoms between boy and girl pregnancies and does that mean this is a boy? I guess I’ll never have an answer to these... except possibly to the last question if it’s a boy, and even then only really if we have more kids of both genders and there is a clear distinction between symptoms every time! Anyway, at the end of the day I’m just thankful to be feeling well!

Nausea is still an issue, but most days nothing major at all. I’m definitely already at the stage where I can't manage big portions of food though, which means I am constantly hungry... and have another 7 months of that in front of me! I’m always so relieved after baby arrives and I can have a proper meal and not be feeling the need to be eating ALL THE TIME!

I’m enjoying the fact that my belly is showing now 🥰 and yes, I am totally getting out the maternity pants already. You’d better believe I’m not going to struggle along in uncomfortable clothes when I don’t have to! I managed with “normal” clothes until about 5 months pregnant with my first when I HAD to go shopping, but my pregnancies since then I’m like, “I have the clothes already, I just want to be comfy!”

How has baby been developing this week?

At 1cm long baby has doubled in size since last week! (Remember this measurement is CRL - from baby's head to bum, as baby is curled up. Stretched out they would be around 3cm.) The eyes are more developed and have moved from the side of the head to the front, and other facial features are starting or continuing to develop. More internal organs are developing, including the reproductive organs, though at this stage neither male nor female. The skin is growing, covering the whole body in a transparent layer, and fingers and thumbs are developing.

What am I doing to prepare?

Booking in with the midwife was our biggest thing this week, though as hoped I also did get back to some exercise. My swimming teacher was so excited when I told her I was pregnant and gave me a big hug 🥰. Another exciting thing this week was the arrival in the mail of The Birth Sling which I’d ordered. I'm so excited to finally get my hands on this to be able to offer to my clients, as well as use myself! It seems only appropriate to make that this week’s “favourite resource”, so see below for more details!

A favourite resource:

The Birth Sling is “a new take on an ancient birthing tool designed to support upright and active positions during labor, helping women move freely and comfortably while using gravity to their advantage. Developed by Osteopath and Mum of two Dr Jess Michaels, it provides gentle, secure support, allowing for more natural movement and alignment.”

What more can I add? It’s a fantastic invention, and definitely one I would have used significantly in my two previous births. It supports mums to stay upright without them needing to rely on their own or their partner’s strength to keep them up, and any strength you can save during labour is sure to come in useful later on! Definitely consider buying or hiring it for your birth!

And that’s it for this week! 🌿💛

[Image credit: Baby feet photo by pixel studios on Unsplash]