20 Weeks Pregnant - halfway there? A discussion on due dates
A common comment to hear at 20 weeks pregnant is, “Oh, so you're halfway there!” This is probably roughly true, but let’s talk about due dates! Firstly, have you ever wondered who decided that a pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, and how they came to that conclusion? And most of all, how on earth is it that 40 weeks has come to be seen as a deadline, as if the mother or baby are all of a sudden at high risk from one day to the next?
19 Weeks Pregnant - life is busy…plus gender & name chats
I have to say this week has been very NON-focused on pregnancy! While I have continued nourishing my baby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week … with an exceptionally busy life season my mind has been on other things the majority of the time! … I will confess that despite the busyness, I am still counting down the days till the morphology ultrasound, when we are also hoping to find out the baby’s gender! I just can’t wait to start calling baby by his or her name!
18 Weeks Pregnant - plan for your birth!
I’m planning my third birth after two uncomplicated, and frankly, fantastic birth experiences. But let me tell you, you never get to the point where you don’t need to plan for birth! And you can’t just “copy and paste” your birth plan either, since no two pregnancies and births are the same. Not to mention the fact that we never finish learning. You may have made an informed decision on something for your first birth that you now have more information on or think differently about, and so you make a different decision for a subsequent birth or postpartum…
17 Weeks Pregnant - the things people say!
It’s pretty common to see posts on social media of the things you should and shouldn’t say to pregnant women, such as remarks on the size of their belly. Some women won’t be bothered at all, but just imagine if you tell a woman who’s struggled with body image and weight loss that she’s “looking big”.
On the flip side, making a comparison comment along the lines of “when I was as far along as you, my belly was so much bigger” can be really harmful to a mum who has dealt with pregnancy loss or had a baby with restricted growth...
16 Weeks Pregnant - can you sleep comfortably while pregnant?
Ahhh...sleep in pregnancy! Quite the topic! It can be more challenging than non-pregnancy sleep for so many reasons… Before my first was born, I spent probably the second half of the pregnancy trying ALL sorts of pillow combinations to get comfortable. I would get SUCH sore hips, and it seemed I spent all night rolling from one side to the other to get some relief. And when I say “rolling”, of course I mean, “picking up my belly, managing to manoeuvre onto the other side, and putting my belly down again” 😂
15 Weeks Pregnant - I felt my baby move!
During the week I ran a poll on my Instagram stories asking for votes on when I might feel baby move for the first time. For reference, I said that I felt my first moving at 19-20 weeks with anterior placenta, and my second at 17-18 weeks with anterior placenta. This time I have a posterior placenta, and I asked if people thought I was likely to start feeling movements from 14-15 weeks, 15-16, 16-17, or 17+.
14 Weeks Pregnant - the second trimester
So when does the second trimester start? There’s quite a bit of variation here. Some people say the first trimester is weeks 1-12, some say 1-13 and some say 1-14. Logically, since “trimester” means 3 months, I think 13 weeks would have to be the closest (there are a few days more than 4 weeks in a month, so over 3 months it adds up to an extra week). But I can also see the sense of going with 14 weeks, since that is only about 12 weeks from conception... But you know what? I don’t really care any more! For me, the first trimester ends when the placenta takes over and I start feeling more normal again!
13 Weeks Pregnant - the blessing of health
This week we had a visit from our midwife, Haylie — the official booking-in visit. She was apparently shocked to see the results of my first trimester blood tests with all levels in the recommended ranges. Apparently I’m abnormal 😂 I have to say I do feel like a bit of a boring character at these booking-in appointments, not having any of the possible medical conditions they have to ask me about! Jokes aside, I am very thankful for good health!! It is such a blessing, and I don’t take it for granted…